Sept. 5, 2016
With construction on the Campus Crossroads Project continuing through the 2016 Notre Dame home football season, here’s what fans coming to Notre Dame Stadium this fall can expect:
Q. What will access to Notre Dame Stadium be like for 2016 home football games compared to last year?
A. Fans won’t notice much difference. All five stadium gates-A, B, C, D and E-will be operational as well as the tunnel at the north end of the stadium. All restrooms and concession stands will be operational as they were a year ago.
Q. What about the look and feel of Notre Dame Stadium based on the Campus Crossroads Project construction?
A. The biggest difference is the erection of the Music and Sacred Music Building on the south end of the stadium. The east (Corbett Family Hall North and South) and west (Duncan Student Center) building exteriors are more finished than a year ago, with much of the current work taking place in those two structures featuring interior work.
Q. What about inside the stadium?
A. Fans will see the facades on both the Corbett and Duncan buildings are finished in part. In addition, new LED lights have been installed by Musco, the company that back in 1982 brought in portable lighting for the first night game at Notre Dame Stadium. The new lights are among the first of their kind in the country. Their advantages include
–A 55 percent saving of electricity
–Much longer life expectancy of about 100,000 hours
–Much more uniform light levels resulting in improved visibility for fans and TV viewers
–Better color rendition
–Minimal glare
–The light is focused on the field resulting in much less light lost to the sky
–Instant ON and OFF capability
–Each fixture can be individually controlled and tuned, if necessary
Q. Is there anything different about parking in 2016?
A. The biggest change involves use of zipper parking for the first time in the Stadium and Joyce lots. Fans can still access those two lots from 7-9 a.m. on game days and choose their parking spots. Beginning at 9 a.m. zipper parking will go into effect, with attendants specifically directing all customers into spots. Parking access otherwise will be about the same, other than the loss of a few spaces directly south of Notre Dame Stadium in the Stadium lot due to CCP construction.
Q. What’s the timetable for completion of the CCP?
A. Floors 7, 8, 9 of the two sideline structures will be completed in time for the 2017 football season as will a major facelift of the stadium concourses and restrooms. Completion and occupancy of the remaining floors of the three buildings will be phased over the ensuing months.
Q. What is going into the first six levels of the buildings?
A. Crossroads is, by and large, a significant addition in academic, performance and student life space on campus. Three-quarters of the project will be devoted to those initiatives as Notre Dame Stadium becomes a destination on campus, rather than an obstacle. A digital media center and the departments of psychology and anthropology will be located on the first six floors of Corbett Family Hall on the east side, and the music department and sacred music program will be in the building on the south end. Duncan Student Center will be home to a wide array of student groups, a recreation center, the Career Center, social space and dining establishments.
Q. Are there any CCP elements completed for 2016?
A. Yes. The press box on the west wide was dismantled immediately after the conclusion of the 2015 home season. A new press box located on the ninth level on the east side is finished for the 2016 season. That area also includes radio booths both for Notre Dame and the visiting team. Just north of the media area on the ninth level of the east side for 2016 will be a limited seating area for University guests.
Q. Will anything on the west side be operational in 2016?
A. Yes. A new NBC Sports broadcast position on the seventh level is ready for the 2016 season. The ninth level on the west side also includes booths for the Notre Dame and visiting team coaches, the Notre Dame and visiting team athletics directors, replay, scoreboard and timing operations, as well as game management and control center spaces. None of those areas will be completely finished for 2016, but they will be done to an extent that they can be used.
Q. Is there anything different about the seating in Notre Dame Stadium for 2016?
A. As previously announced, one of the improvements to Notre Dame Stadium in 2017 is the replacement of the current wood bleachers with those made from a new composite material. To meet construction timelines in 2017, the upper bowl wood bleachers were removed and replaced for the 2016 season. The lower bowl seats will be replaced at the conclusion of the 2016 season. In addition, for the 2017 season the seats in the lower bowl will be widened by two inches to match the 18-inch width of those in the upper bowl. Capacity remains at 80,795 spectators for 2016, but seat and section numbering will change for 2017.
Q. Where will the NBC production trucks be housed?
A. There no longer will be a ground-level compound at the southwest corner of the stadium for the NBC Sports production trucks. Instead, the CCP features a rampway at the southwest corner that leads below ground for staging and power for the NBC trucks. In addition, there are below-ground facilities for the NBC staff for meetings, meals and a green room for talent. Those facilities all will be in use beginning in 2017.
Q. Will tours of Notre Dame Stadium be available on 2016 home game weeks?
A. Yes. The last tour will take place at 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursdays of home game weeks. There will be no stadium tours on Fridays or Saturdays. There is public access to the north-end tunnel from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (other than when visiting teams are practicing) on Fridays for fans to access the north end zone of the field for photos. Check this link for details on Notre Dame Stadium tours: http://www.und.com/tours/
Q. When does Notre Dame Stadium open on game days?
A. Gates are open to the public an hour and a half prior to kickoff.
Q. Are will-call ticket locations the same as in the past?
A. Yes. Notre Dame player guest tickets are available at Gate A. Visiting team player guest tickets are available at Gate B. General will call is at the Murnane Family Ticket Office at Purcell Pavilion (opens three and a half hours prior to kickoff-four hours prior to the kickoff for the Sept. 10 Nevada game). The Notre Dame Alumni Association ticket service operates from inside Gate 3 of the Joyce Center.
Q. Is there still elevator access for fans to reach the mezzanine levels of the stadium?
A. Fans can make use of two elevators on the east side (access through Gates A or B, with the elevators located off the main concourse at about midfield, adjacent to section 12), but for 2016 there is no public elevator access on the west side of Notre Dame Stadium.
Q. Will the new video board in Notre Dame Stadium be ready for 2016?
A. No. The framed area for the board can be seen from inside the stadium, but the board will not be in place and operational until the 2017 season.
Q. Where will pep rallies be held in 2016?
A. Here are locations for the pep rallies slated for Friday nights prior to Irish home football games:
* Nevada (Sept. 9) ââ’¬” outside the Rockne Memorial Building
* Michigan State (Sept. 16) ââ’¬” Purcell Pavilion
* Duke (Sept. 23) ââ’¬” Joyce Center Field House (north dome)
* Stanford (Oct. 14) ââ’¬” Compton Family Ice Arena
* Miami (Oct. 28) ââ’¬” Hesburgh Library mall
* Virginia Tech (Nov. 18) ââ’¬” Joyce Center Field House (north dome)
There is no admission charge and there are no tickets required for the pep rallies, which begin at 5:45 p.m. ET.
Q. Is the corporate tent area in the same place as in past seasons?
A. Due to construction at the Harris Track and Field, the tent areas have shifted slightly north but remain in the same general space west of Eck Baseball Stadium (south of the gold parking lot).
Q. Is there anything new happening in the Joyce Center field house where the fan fest traditionally has been held?
A. Yes. ABC57 will do a live, two-hour pregame show each home Saturday from 10 a.m.-noon ET in the field house, with a variety of live guests pertaining to Notre Dame football.
Q. Which visiting teams will bring their bands to Notre Dame Stadium in 2016?
A. Michigan State and Duke are expected to bring full bands.
Q. When will the Notre Dame Monogram Club pre-game tunnels take place?
A. All Irish football monogram winners are invited back for the Michigan State game, and all former monogram winners from all sports are invited for the Miami pregame tunnel.
Q. What are some of the other special events that will take place in conjunction with 2016 Notre Dame home games?
A. The Nevada game will be the 250th consecutive sellout at Notre Dame Stadium. The Michigan State game will feature the 50th anniversary reunion of members of Notre Dame’s 1966 national championship team. The Duke game will include recognition of Notre Dame’s 1946 national championship season on its 70th anniversary. The Miami game will be the official celebration of the Notre Dame Monogram Club’s 100th anniversary.