ANN ARBOR, Mich. Michigan Stadium looks dramatically different, looming so large along Main Street that its luxury boxes cast a shadow on sunny mornings.

To a 20-year-old woman who works across the street, “The Big House” has developed a new moniker

“We call it ‘The Shadium,'” Stacie Steils said Thursday, looking through the windows of AAA Michigan at the iconic sporting venue. “It's just so big.”

Yes, it is.

Since the day after the Wolverines lost to Ohio State last November, 7,300 tons of steel have been erected to house 82 suites, a slew of club seats and a new press box from end zone to end zone on both sides.

The $226 million construction project is scheduled to be completed for the 2010 season. It has kept an average of 175 workers busy each day from about 7 a.m. until almost midnight.

Lately, the dust has settled because coach Rich Rodriguez will make his Michigan debut against Utah in two weeks.

“You'd like to fast forward the clock two years, but we're fortunate to be here in the process,” Rodriguez said.

To improve wheelchair access, the stadium's capacity has dipped to 106,201 and slipped behind Penn State's Beaver Stadium as the country's biggest football venue. In two years, the Big House will be back on top with 108,000-plus seats.

School officials have been soliciting well-heeled fans to pay for the project.

Commitments for 51 of the 82 suites that cost $55,000 to $85,000 each year to entertain 16 fans have been secured, according to senior associate athletic director Joe Parker. Almost 1,600 of the 3,600 club seats have been sold for annual gifts of $1,500 to $4,000 plus the cost of the tickets, Parker said. Major donors from New York to California have already given $31-plus million for naming rights as part of the project.

Michigan athletic director Bill Martin acknowledged that the proposed changes are not unanimously popular. He said the opposing views reflect how much people care about Michigan football and its storied stadium.