Major Events
Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006, as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 21–10 to win their fifth Super Bowl championship in front of 68,206 in attendance. It also marked the final game in the 13 year career of Detroit native and 10 year Steelers running back, Jerome Bettis.
Despite hosting the Super Bowl, Ford Field remains one of only 2 current NFL stadiums (the other being Cleveland Browns Stadium) that have yet to host an NFL playoff game.
Madonna played to a sold-out Ford Field on November 18, 2008, as part of her record-breaking Sticky and Sweet Tour.
On April 1, 2007, Ford Field hosted World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania 23. This event set a Ford Field attendance record of 80,103. It was the first WrestleMania held in the Detroit area since 93,173 fans set a world indoor attendance record at the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania III in 1987.
The stadium is home to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl featuring a top Mid-American Conference team and a Big Ten Conference team. It has also hosted the annual MAC Championship Game since 2004.
On December 13, 2003, Ford Field hosted the then largest crowd ever to attend a basketball game, as 78,129 people packed the stadium for the Basketbowl, where the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Michigan State Spartans, 79–74.
The University of Detroit Mercy and Ford Field hosted the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament regional semifinal and final games (March 28 and 30). Ford Field was the site of the 2009 Final Four (April 4 and 6). For the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament, the court was placed in the center of the football field rather than in an end of the stadium. This was the first time this configuration was used for NCAA Tournament play with the new 70,000-seat capacity rule in effect.
The 2010 Frozen Four was held on April 8 and 10 with Boston College defeating Wisconsin to win the championship. This has been the only time NCAA hockey has used a football stadium for the championship and resulted in the largest attendance (37,592) at a Frozen Four event.
The MHSAA Football Finals take place on Thanksgiving weekend, typically drawing over 60,000 fans. The stadium is also used each fall to host the MCBA finals, where Michigan high school marching bands compete to be the best in the state.
Ford Field has been the site of several neutral-site regular season college football games, including Michigan State vs. Florida Atlantic in 2010 and Western Michigan vs. Illinois in 2008.
On December 13, 2010, the Minnesota Vikings played a home game at Ford Field against the New York Giants after the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome's inflatable roof collapsed due to a rip in the roofing material caused by heavy snow accumulation. The roof failure forced the already postponed game to be moved elsewhere, and after deliberations, the NFL chose Ford Field. It was the first ever regular season Monday night game played at Ford Field. The Lions hosted their first ever Monday Night Football game in Ford Field on October 10, 2011 against the Chicago Bears.
Kid Rock held his 40th birthday party at Ford Field to kick off the tour of his new album Born Free on January 15, 2011.
Ford Field hosted two group stage matches of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament on June 7, 2011. Panama played Guadeloupe in the first match, and the United States played Canada in the second match.
Taylor Swift played a show for her Speak Now World Tour on June 11, 2011.
The Professional Bull Riders brought their Built Ford Tough Series tour to Ford Field for the first time ever in March 2012. Ford Field is the second Detroit area venue the BFTS has visited; they had visited The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2001 and 2007.
In 2015, Ford Field will house the large group gatherings of the ELCA Youth Gathering.
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“One cannot be a good historian of the outward, visible world without giving some thought to the hidden, private life of ordinary people; and on the other hand one cannot be a good historian of this inner life without taking into account outward events where these are relevant. They are two orders of fact which reflect each other, which are always linked and which sometimes provoke each other.”
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