ANN ARBOR - With the University of Michigan having completed a disappointing 8-4 regular season on Nov. 17 with a loss on their home turf to Ohio State, attention now turns to Michigan Stadium itself, where a three-year, $226 million renovation project is coming off the sidelines.

The renovations will address a number of needs at the Big House. Most visible will be multi-story, 400,000-square-foot additions on both the east and west sides of the stadium. Approximately 83 suites and 3,200 club seats will be added, and a renovated press box will be created. Two smaller buildings at the north and south end zones will house additional restrooms and concessions and support functions such as first-aid, police/security and will-call.

The work will also improve various mechanical and electrical systems, and increase the number of restrooms and concessions. The stadium will also get wider aisles, additional handrails, more entry and exit points, and additional handicapped seating.

"The project will improve the safety and overall game-day experience for all fans and provide a strong financial foundation for the competitiveness of Michigan athletics in the future," said U-M Athletic Director William Martin.

Construction, led by Barton-Malow, will start this month and be phased to accommodate the 2008 and 2009 football seasons so that football can continue to be played at the stadium. Completion of the project is anticipated in August 2010.

The big additions on the east and west sides of the stadium will stand 10 feet higher than the current scoreboards at their highest point, and are expected to direct crowd noise back onto the field, "providing a greater home-field advantage," according to U-M. And a few more fans will be able to make noise: renovation work will remove some seats for aisle-widening and adding handicapped-access seats, but with the addition of suite and club areas, the stadium will see a net increase of seats from its current 107,501 to more than 108,000.

Since its construction by Fielding Yost in 1927, Michigan Stadium has undergone many major changes and renovations. According to the U-M, in 1949 it was expanded from 85,000 to 95,000 seats, and in 1956 it was renovated again to a capacity of more than 100,000. In 1957 the current press box was added. In 1998, more seats were added and the video scoreboards were put in place. This renovation will include the conversion of the screens from the current incandescent bulb components to light-emitting diode (LED) technology, providing a "more reliable and clear display, the university said.

And should the next two largest college football stadiums in the land - Penn State's Beaver Stadium (capacity 107,282) or the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium (capacity 104,079) wish to expand and challenge Michigan Stadium as the nation's largest - this renovation will not limit the Big House's capacity to expand in the future. The stadium was designed to allow a capacity of 150,000 seats.

THE EXPANSION OF the University of Michigan football stadium will be most visible with the addition of two 400,000 square-foot structures on the east and west side of stadium that will allow for the construction of luxury boxes. One is shown in this rendering.