Photos by Lloyd Brown, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.57
Lambeau Field 1265 Lombardi Ave Green Bay, WI 54304
Year Opened: 1957 Capacity: 81,441
Home Of The Lambeau Leap
When people talk about NFL dynasties, the first team people think of is the New England Patriots. That may be true in recent years, but no team has come close to the Green Bay Packers in the entire league history. The team of “Frozen Tundra” fame has won a stunning 13 championships in its history. This includes 9 NFL Championships, and four championships won during the Super Bowl era. All these championship seasons occurred in the team’s only home, Lambeau Field.
Lambeau Field opened in 1957 and is the oldest stadium in continuous use in the NFL. (Soldier Field in Chicago is an older structure, but there have been breaks in its use when the Bears played at Wrigley Field and other locations during renovations). It also is one of the largest stadiums in terms of capacity, with an ability to hold 81,441 fans. It is the largest stadium in Wisconsin, with Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin coming in second. The stadium is named for Curly Lambeau, who was a team founder, player, and first coach of the Packers.
Food & Beverage 4
Food is a very important element at all Green Bay home games.
You can start working on your hunger pangs before you even enter the stadium by visiting the Johnsonville Tailgate Village in the east parking lot near the Oneida Gate a Lambeau Field. Johnsonville food products are widely available at the Village, which also features musical entertainment, games, giveaways, and 35 plasma TVs tuned to various NFL games around the country.
Lambeau Field offers a wide variety of foods at its concession stands inside the stadium. They include everything from stadium standards to North Woods specialties. First, there is a full-service restaurant located in the Atrium at the stadium. The 1919 Kitchen and Tap offers a Northwoods menu of cheese curds, chicken wings, a beer cheese bisque, a beer cheese mac skillet, chicken pot pie, and several different specialty burgers. The Kitchen and Tap offers more than 40 different craft beers.
Some of the more unique offerings at Lambeau concessions stands are meatloaf sandwiches, pot roast sandwiches, and Korean BBQ bowls. There are also stands that serve foods to knock the chill off at late-season games including chili, hot soups, and brat cheddar chowder. The Gridiron Grill serves up your typical stadium standards of burgers, hot dogs, popcorn, and sodas.
One item you will have no problem finding at a Green Bay home game is brats. Lambeau Field has lots of brats, including Pack N Cheese Brats, brat eggrolls, brat frites, brats’ tots, and brat’s mac n cheese.
Lambeau Field offers one of the most extensive sets of beer offerings we’ve seen in an NFL venue. Brands available include Miller, Badger State Brewski, Blue Moon, Coors, High Life, Hinterland, Leinie’s, and Terrapin.
The workers at the concession stands are volunteers from various civic clubs who are raising funds for charitable organizations in the Green Bay area.
Atmosphere 4
The franchise does a terrific job of preserving the history and aura of the Packers in several ways. This is accomplished in several ways. The Packers Hall of Fame is in the Atrium of Lambeau Field and is a must-see attraction for both Packer fans and visiting fans who love football history.
It features exhibits on historic games in Packers history, videos of famous Packers players of the past, the 13 championships trophies won by the team, uniforms worn by the Packers over the years, and a replica of Coach Lombardi’s office. In total, there are 27 plasma screens, 77 exhibits, and 363 graphics that tell the history of the Packers franchise.
Just outside of Lambeau Field, there are several statues of notable Packer figures. These include a statue of Curly Lambeau, a statue of Vince Lombardi, and a statue of a player doing the Lambeau Leap into the stands after a Green Bay touchdown.
Neighborhood 4
In many ways, Lambeau Field is a neighborhood stadium, as there is a large residential neighborhood just across Lombardi Avenue from the stadium. The folks that live in this neighborhood don’t mind having the stadium next door, as they make lots of cash each fall selling parking in their driveways or yards to fans.
The neighborhood south of Lombardi Avenue is a mix of retail, restaurants, and watering holes. The Taverne in the Sky is located just west of the stadium in the Lodge Kohler. The Turn restaurant offers a wide variety of bar food, chili, and soups, as well as tacos, cheesesteaks, and burgers. Head to the Hinterlands to quench your thirst after cheering all day at the game. They offer a wide variety of IPAs, drafts, and crafts in addition to cocktails and wines.
Lodging is widely available around the stadium. The Lodge Kohler is a four-star hotel just west of Lambeau Field. Just east of the stadium are the Best Western Green Bay and the Quality Inn Stadium Area.
As you can imagine there are several Packer-related attractions near Lambeau Field. These include the Oneida Nation Walk of Legends and the Packer Hall of Fame. The National Railroad Museum is also close by.
Fans 4
Whether you had a great time or a lousy time at an establishment, you often want to offer your opinion to the management. At Lambeau Field, that person may be sitting to your left or your right. That’s because the citizens of Green Bay own stock in the team. Like other teams, the Packers have GMs, front-office staff, and coaches. However, in the early days of football, the locals were called on to provide the basics for the team including uniforms, footballs, and other supplies. That tradition carries through to the present, with elected representatives speaking for the stockholders.
The Packer fans are a hardy bunch of folks. When the snow is high and the field ices over (even though there are thermal pipes located underneath the field to prevent that) the fans feel this is ideal weather for the home team, as they practice regularly in this type of weather.
Green Bay fans all seem to be local historians as well, as they share a great deal of knowledge about the important sights around the town. They can recite from memory all the details of the Ice Bowl game between the Packers and the Cowboys back in the 1960s. Our experience is that most Packer fans are midwestern-friendly, unless you are wearing Chicago Bears gear, and cheering for the guys from Chicago. There is an intense rivalry between the two cities and teams.
Access 3
One of the first things that visiting fans will face in attending a Packers game is simply getting to the town. Green Bay is one of the most remote cities in the NFL. It is located 116 miles north of Milwaukee and 206 miles north of Chicago. Green Bay does have an airport, but it can only handle commuter-sized planes and fares to Green Bay are quite expensive.
At the stadium, your first task is finding parking in the area. The lots immediately outside of Lambeau Field are reserved for season ticket holders. Probably your closest option is to use the parking lot at Titletown, which is a relatively new development just across Lombardi Avenue from the stadium. Parking in this lot will be $50. While parking is allowed, tailgating is prohibited in these lots.
On gamedays, Titletown offers music, food booths, and a Packer’s themed playground. The development includes a public park, a microbrewery, a skating rink and a regulation-sized artificial turf football field, where visitors can pass, kick, and punt as long as they want. (Bring your own gear, as Titletown does not provide footballs and other supplies.) The Titletown development includes a Lodge Kohler Hotel. Parking is free for hotel guests. It is 100 yards to the stadium from the hotel.
If you come without a parking space, on-street parking is allowed in the neighborhoods that adjoin the stadium.
There are a few alternate ways to get to Lambeau Field. Uber/Lyft can pick you up before the game and pick you up after the game. The drop-off and pick-up zone at Lambeau Field is located at the corner of Mike McCarthy Way and Holmgren Way. This is a much cheaper option than parking near the stadium. The local transportation system, Green Bay Metro, offers free shuttles to Lambeau from three different routes. These routes go by the names of Lambeau Leap, the QB Sneak, the Quick Slant, and the Cheesehead.
Once at Lambeau Field, you can enter through one of the eight main gates. The stadium gates open two hours before kickoff. If you arrive very early, you can kill time in the Lambeau Field Atrium, which is adjacent to the stadium. The Atrium opens four hours before the kickoff for ticketed fans. This gives you time to visit the Packers Hall of Fame, shop at the Packers Pro Shop, or get a bite to eat at the 1919 Kitchen and Tap. The restaurant carries more than 40 craft beers.
Return on Investment 3
Unless you live in the area, or say nearby in Milwaukee, you probably making the trek to Green Bay as a way of marking it off a bucket list involving sports venues. We say that as a way of saying that attending a Packers game at Lambeau Field can be an expensive proposition.
Here is what you can expect: Parking at regulated lots starts at $50 and goes higher as get closer to the stadium. Tickets to individual games on the Packers website start at $132 for a seat at the top of the stadium and go much higher. Tickets on the secondary markets tend to go for premium prices. Lambeau Field is a cashless facility.
Extras 3
Visiting fans can get a real feel for the history of the Green Bay franchise by visiting the Packer’s Heritage Trail in downtown Green Bay. The 4.5-mile trail can be done on foot or by a tourism shuttle. The trail has markers at 25 sites that played a significant role in the town’s starting of the Packer franchise. Among the sites are Vince Lombardi’s home, team founder Curly Lambeau’s house, and the site of the Packer's first practice field.
Green Bay will be hosting the 2025 NFL Pro Draft event. The entire population of Green Bay could be seated in Lambeau Field at one time.
Final Thoughts
Lambeau Field is one of the most iconic venues in the NFL, as it has hosted some of the most historic games in the history of the NFL. It does not sit on this laurel though. Lambeau Field is constantly refining its gameday experience for fans making the trek to the NFL’s northernmost outpost.
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