In 1946, Lambeau purchased Rockwood Lodge, a former Norbertine retreat 17 miles north of Green Bay, and converted it into the first self-contained training facility in pro football history, complete with living and dining facilities for the players and their families. However, the players soon grew to detest the Lodge, primarily because the practice fields sat on top of brick-hard limestone. The players took such a severe beating during practice that Lambeau sometimes had to move practices back to fields near City Stadium. According to a 2013 article in "ESPN The Magazine," the team's rapid on-field decline was tied in part to the unforgiving fields at the Lodge, or "the Rock" as the players derisively called it. Additionally, Lambeau refused to abandon the Notre Dame Box, a variation of the single wing, long after most teams switched to running the T formation.