Incredible history. Stunning photo ops. Lambeau Field tours will make anyone a Green Bay Packers fan...
Mid-July is rough for football fans… So close to training camps starting, but it still feels like the NFL season can’t start soon enough. We found the perfect thing to hold over a football fan until the season starts: a tour of Lambeau Field.
For starters, Lambeau Field isn’t just some sleepy stadium when the Green Bay Packers aren’t in town. The entire complex is buzzing with thousands of diehard Cheeseheads and several hundred more folks who just had to see one of the NFL’s most famous stadiums.
Once inside the massive atrium, there’s no doubt you’re in Packers country. Around the corner and down the escalator you’ll find what has to be one of the biggest and coolest pro shops imaginable. From cheese heads to toasters, if you want Green Bay Packers gear, you’ll find it there.
Of course, between the atrium and pro shop you might happen to notice a huge- we mean huge- replica of the Lombardi Trophy.
We had a little time to kill before our tour started, so the obvious thing to do was grab some cheese curds and a PBR at the 1919 Kitchen & Tap.
With a cool, industrial feel, a massive beer selection, a very reasonably priced menu, and plenty of TVs tuned to sports, it is without a doubt one of the better stadium restaurants we've ever tried.
After filling up on fried cheese, it was time for our tour.
Here we should give you a heads up… There are 3 different tours (Classic, Champions, & Legendary), each offers a little more than the next. Although they have a whole bunch of tours each day, they still sell out. Make sure you get your tickets as early as possible.
We hopped on the Champions Tour, an hour and a half guided tour with so many stunning views and awesome photo ops it’s almost overwhelming.
Our favorite spot? The overlook from the south end zone, the highest point in Green Bay. Despite a little spitting rain, it alone was worth taking the tour.
From the end zone vista, it was back through the premium levels and suites where our passionate, genial tour guides told the story of the Green Bay Packers. (A huge thank you to our wonderful guides, Jeff Streckenbach and Candy Conard.)
With plenty of light-hearted jabs and jokes at the Bears and Vikings expense, the guides told us the inspiring story of Curly Lambeau- of how a case of tonsillitis derailed his Notre Dame playing days and led to the founding of one of the NFL’s most beloved and successful teams.
You’ll also learn all about the coach who took a fledgling franchise and turned it into a powerhouse for decades: Vince Lombardi.
And finally, you’ll also learn about how the Packers became the only pro sports team to be community-owned, a fact that goes hand-in-hand with the passion and enthusiasm Green Bay Packers fans show every day.
When it’s all said and done, there’s only one thing left to do on the Lambeau Field tours… Walk out the same tunnel and across the same concrete as some of football’s greatest like Aaron Rodgers, Brett Farve, and Bart Starr and onto the field.
For a Packers fan, the Lambeau Field tours are like Christmas Day crammed into an hour and a half. For the rest of us, whether a football fan or not, it’s impossible to take one of these tours and not walk away a newly minted Green Bay Packers Fan.
Oh, and by the way- if you have time, we also highly suggest a trip through the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
For tour information and more on visiting Lambeau Field, visit the Green Bay Packers website.
Note:
Our time in Green Bay was part of a crazy, awesome road trip called MINI Takes the States. For 2 weeks, MINI owners rallied across the country hitting up cities like Green Bay, race tracks, and everything in between. We had the pleasure of driving both a MINI S convertible and a MINI John Cooper Works, both with 6-speed manual transmissions. It's pretty much the most fun you'll ever have. The best part? The whole trip raised over 1,000,000 meals in partnership with Feeding America. Learn more here.
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