At Lambeau, family and Packers fans honor Bob Harlan's legacy, impact

There could be no more fitting place than the Lambeau Field Atrium for Bob Harlan's family, friends, football colleagues and Green Bay Packers fans to celebrate his life. Harlan, who died March 5 at age 89, helped convince Brown County residents to back the sales tax that partly funded the 2003 renovation of Lambeau Field and addition of the Atrium as a year-round event and gathering space for Packers fans. His son, broadcaster Kevin Harlan, said during a March 23 celebration of life his dad knew something "drastic" had to be done to help put the Packers on solid financial footing.

Now, the Atrium has "become the blueprint, the template for every sports organization" and a springboard for so much more for the Packers and Green Bay, he said. "I know my dad never in his wildest dreams thought it would lead to this, but since he retired in '06-'07-'08, I remember him talking specifically of the job Mark did to expand and be creative and think outside the box," Harlan said. "Not only is this the most historic franchise in pro football, but it's become now the most innovative.

And for little Green Bay, Wisconsin. It's remarkable. It's the best story in sports.

" In their ways, both Harlan and the Atrium laid the foundation on which decades of success and growth – stadium expansions, the Titletown district, a Super Bowl victory – would be built. The team's current and former executives and coaches during a March 23 celebration of Harlan's life praised him for setting a leadership and management standard that lives on decades after he formally retired. "On behalf of all of us (Packers employees), I want to thank Bob for putting a roof over our head.