ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) – If you build it, they will stay. That was the message the people of Green Bay heard when there was a discussion on building a new stadium.
When the Packers needed a new venue for survival, Christl says Curly Lambeau and George Halas hosted a rally in 1956 urging fans to pass a stadium referendum.
“When they held the referendum they did not designate a site because they knew that the potential was there for people to reject it based on that.”
He says they also painted a pretty harsh reality.
“They more or less told the people of Green Bay that if you don’t build it, you are going to lose your team.”
The process wasn’t completely smooth as there was a debate on whether it should be built on the west side.
“The east siders wanted to build it on the same side as City Stadium and the west siders favored Perkins Park.”
He says the city council was split.
“That’s when they hired the outside consulting firm that decided on this current site.”
That stadium is now what everyone knows as Lambeau Field.
