April 12, 2006

In accord with a new no-smoking ordinance in St. Joseph County, smoking will be prohibited in Notre Dame Stadium and other athletics venues at the University of Notre Dame.

The ordinance, which was passed in February by the County Council, took effect Monday (April 10) and bans smoking in most public places. It will be applied at Notre Dame Stadium for the Blue-Gold spring football game April 22 (Saturday).

Violators of the county ordinance will be given a warning and asked to refrain from smoking. If a person continues to smoke, he or she will be escorted from the stadium. There will not be a “pass-out” system for people to smoke and then return to the stadium, nor will there be a designated smoking area in or near the stadium.

Notre Dame established its own no-smoking policy in 1992 which prohibited smoking in all buildings, stadiums and vehicles owned by the University. The prohibition against smoking in stadiums was enforced only when a complaint was registered.