July 13, 2009

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame will offer public parking for up to 2,000 vehicles on the nine-hole Notre Dame Golf Course beginning with the upcoming Irish home football season.

Located on the southwest corner of the Notre Dame campus, the course (once known as the Burke Memorial Golf Course) will offer two parking entrances – one on Angela Boulevard and another on Dorr Road.

The parking will be of the drive-up variety, with no parking passes sold in advance for this area. The price will be $40. Football game tickets must be shown for entrance to the parking areas on the course.

“One of the things we have heard from members of the Notre Dame family is the need for additional on-campus football parking,” says assistant vice president for University events & protocol Mike Seamon, who in April was named director of football game day operations.

“Due to various construction projects on and around campus over the course of the past decade, football parking on the south end of campus has been reduced. In the fall of 2009, we are happy to be able to offer, for the first time, parking on the Notre Dame nine-hole (Burke) golf course.

“Depending on weather conditions on any given home football weekend, we anticipate being able to park as many as 2,000 vehicles. It is our hope that the proximity of the parking area to the heart of campus and the stadium will make this an attractive option for our fans.”

The parking area, as with all other Notre Dame football parking areas, will open at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time on game days. Tailgating will be permitted.

If inclement weather forces the course to be unavailable, there will be signs to that effect at Exit 77 of the Indiana Toll Road and at entrances to the course.

Only passenger vehicles will be permitted to park in this new area. No recreational vehicles, limousines, large trucks, buses or motorcycles will be admitted.

All vehicles must exit the course by three hours following the end of each game, so the course can be prepared for play on Sundays. Any vehicles remaining three hours after the conclusion of a game will be towed.

Additional public parking remains available north of campus in White Field.

The announcement of the Notre Dame Golf Course parking availability is the first of a number of improvements to the Irish football gameday experience to be offered for the 2009 season. Look for announcements of additional changes and improvements in August.

“Everyone in the Notre Dame family is proud of the rich tradition we are fortunate to experience surrounding a Notre Dame home football weekend,” Seamon said. “We feel our game-day experience is one of the best in the country and is a direct result of the spirit of our fans and the hard work and efforts of many individuals and entities across campus and the local community.

“That said, in the spirit of continuous improvement and the goal of striving to do better in everything we do, we want to make sure that the University continues to offer the best experience possible for our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and fans.

“The game day initiative, which was born out of an ad hoc committee’s study last fall and its subsequent report to Notre Dame’s president, Father John Jenkins, provides the University with the collaborative structure and means to ensure we are continuing to provide the best experience possible.”

— ND —