Meijer Field
Meijer Field is an open-air stadium in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is the home of the Grand Rapids Dragons of the United Furry Football League. Opened in 2014 for the inaugural UFFL season, Meijer Field, also known as "The Dragons' Lair," has quickly built up a reputation for its unique features and loud, rowdy fans that come to cheer on the Dragons. The official capacity of Meijer Field is listed at 71,350, with the largest crowd being over 73,000 for the Continental Conference Playoff game against the Baltimore Ponies in January 2016.
Origins and History
When the Grand Rapids Foxes franchise was purchased and rebranded in 2011, it was decided that a new stadium was necessary to increase awareness of the team. The Lincoln Sports Complex was one of the better stadiums in the FAFF, but the capacity of 25,000 was deemed too small, and the ownership group wanted to build a modern stadium in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. The need for the new stadium was such a priority that Bill "Papa Croc" Chilton, founder and CEO of Ovision Industries, a leading manufacturer of reptilian care and medical equipment, footed the majority of the bill for the facility. The rest was funded through a slight increase in taxes and funding from the Meijer Bros. Corporation, who in turn earned the naming rights to the new stadium.
Construction of the stadium started in January 2010 with the intentions of moving the Foxes in, but the project was put in jeopardy when the FAFF folded. Nevertheless, Crocosaur Sports and Entertainment pressed on in the hopes that a new league would form so that their stadium would house a team, and when the Dragons were announced as one of the twelve inaugural UFFL franchises, their visions soon became reality and would become the new home of football in West Michigan.
Meijer Field was completed in the spring of 2014, but a malfunction within the fuel lines of the dragon statues in the south end zone had engineers scrambling. It would take six weeks to figure out the problem and do a full overhaul in both end zones as the Dragons management requested their home opener to be pushed back as far as possible. The league cooperated, and it was in Week 3 of the 2014 season that Meijer Field hosted its first game, as the California Dons were the first team to come in and face the Dragons. The game would end in a 35-30 defeat for the home team, but the facility drew rave reviews from players, fans and officials alike.
Design and Features
Meijer Field was built along the banks of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids. The inspiration of the design was CenturyLink Field in Seattle, with a split roof that covers the upper and club levels along each sideline, along with the upper half of the lower levels. The entire playing surface is open, with LED video screens on the upper levels in each level. There are two Ovision Solarvect convection heating units on each sideline for reptilian and amphibian players to use in cold weather, each completely solar-powered and with benches large enough to seat five players beneath each unit. The field surface itself is pure Kentucky bluegrass, which has ranked among the best UFFL surfaces, and is easily the best cold-weather surface in the league.
Perhaps the most well known feature of the stadium are the massive dragon head statues that stand in each end zone, twelve in all. They stand 15 feet tall and are around 8 feet long, and there is one about 12 feet beyond each upright to give clearance for the field goal. Additionally, there are two of the dragon heads on each video screen on the upper levels of the end zones, as well as one at each corner of the field overlooking the playing surface. At the introduction when the Dragons take the field, the eyes of each statue light up in a red glow and flames shoot out from the open mouths to give the impression of breathing fire. The statues also "breathe" fire whenever the Dragons score - six times for a touchdown, three times for a made field goal, twice for a safety or 2-point conversion, and once for an extra point. Additionally, the statues light up whenever the Dragons enter the red zone on offense or when the defense forces a turnover by fumble or interception.
There were a plethora of concerns and criticisms when this feature was implemented, most notably those that were convinced that Croco Chilton only wanted to put them in to make it look like a rock concert. He was quoted as saying that he "made sure and double-checked that there was a way to feasibly pull this off without even the slightest of risk to spectators or on-field personnel." Stadium engineers were able to figure out a way to put the statutes in and have them work the way they were designed, and there have been no incidents of any burns or other injuries associated with the placement and function of the statues.
The south end zone is where "The Hoard" section is located, and it is where the most passionate and vocal Dragons fans are seated. With the barriers around the end zones being only five feet off the playing surface all the way around the end zones up to the 20-yard line, spectators are close to the action and it is where The Hoard gives the Dragons their biggest advantage. Many of the fans, specifically in Section 124, will come to the game dressed in medieval battle armor and other garb, often improvised and always green. The noise at the north end of the stadium is often so loud that opposing players complain about it openly, especially those of species with sensitive hearing. This has led to numerous false start and delay of game penalties, while sometimes causing the visiting team to waste a time out or make miscues on plays, which only further fuels the deafening roar. One visiting player told FSPN reporters that Meijer Field "is easily the loudest stadium in the league, paws down."
