Bob Harlan: Preserving the ghosts of Lambeau Field

Continued from previous week

“I don’t know why Lambeau Field can’t last forever,” Harlan stated.

“Look at Fenway Park; look at Wrigley Field; look at Michigan State; look at Ohio State; even Iowa. Look at Camp Randall. Those stadiums are all healthy; they are all strong.

“Our maintenance program has been outstanding at Lambeau. Those are key people too, in the maintenance department. The city comes out every spring, walks through the stadium head to toe. They’ll come back and they’ll say, ‘Boy, your crews are doing a great job, Bob. There’s no problem they could find whatsoever.’ That’s a compliment to those young men in that department.
“I have no idea what the future holds. You’ve got to hope that the sport stays popular.

“You know, one of the things that concerns me a little bit: there’s not many kids playing little league football anymore; baseball and soccer and things like that are kind of taken over. So if this concussion thing can be settled, so we don’t worry about concussions.

“But, Green Bay can compete now.

“I promised the people during the referendum, I said, ‘If you let us keep Lambeau Field, we will keep it open every day of the year. It’s going to do four things for us: it’s going to enable Green Bay to remain a viable part of the National Football League for decades to come, it’s going to solidify the financial future the franchise, it’s going to help us keep a competitive football team on the field, it’s going to bring visitors to Green Bay from literally around the country and the world.’”

And that promise was delivered in a big way when Lambeau Field and the surrounding campus played host to the 2025 NFL Draft in April 2025, and brought 600,000 visitors to the city.

And one thing that was key in bringing those visitors to Green Bay was keeping the bowl and thereby preserving the “ghosts of Lambeau Field.”

While others considered putting backs on the seats and making wider aisles, it would have moved 20,000 of the 56,000 now sitting in the bowl to an upper deck.

“You can say Vince Lombardi came and practiced and played here; that’s huge. That’s where Brett Favre played; that’s where Aaron Rodgers played. Reggie White played here. You can go on and on, and then look at the names on the bowl,” Harlan explained.

The Press Times/Packerland would like to thank Bob Harlan and Mike Harlan for their assistance in putting this series together.