March 20, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Tickets to the 2006 Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring Football Festival presented by Chick-fil-A will go on sale on Monday, March 27, at 9:00 a.m. EST at the Notre Dame Ticket Office and on-line via the official Notre Dame athletics website at www.und.com (click on “Tickets”). The Spring Football Festival, featuring the 77th Annual Blue-Gold Football Game, will be held on Saturday, April 22, and will provide fans their first glimpse of the 2006 Irish.
“The Chick-fil-A of Mishawaka Main Street is proud to partner with Notre Dame by sponsoring the Blue-Gold Game Spring Football Festival,” said Kathy Wonderly, owner/operator of the Mishawaka Main Street Chick-fil-A. “We share Notre Dame’s passion for excellence of playing like a champion and are excited to share in this great community event.”
Media partner for the Blue-Gold Festival is WDND South Bend’s ESPN Radio 1490 AM, which will broadcast the Blue-Gold game live on radio. Supporting sponsors are Chili’s, Papa Vino’s and WMWB-TV (the local Warner Brothers affiliate – WB 25).
There are plenty of activities connected with the 77th annual Blue-Gold game (1:35 p.m. EDT kickoff), including several opportunities to be up close and personal with head coach Charlie Weis and his players.
As demand is high and availability limited for reserved seats, VIP Brunch and Press Box Tickets, ticket-purchasing limits will apply. In 2005, these special tickets sold out in the first few hours after going on sale.
General Admission tickets will be available, $12 for adults and $8 for youth 18 & under. (On game day, adults are $15 and youth 18 & under are $10).
Reserved Gold Seats on the West Side of Notre Dame Stadium will be available for $25 each.
A special VIP Brunch ticket ($50 for adults, $35 for youth 18 and under) offers fans a full day of activities with the Irish, including joining the squad for its pre-game meal. The brunch will be held at 9:00 a.m. EDT in the Joyce Center Fieldhouse (doors open at 8:30 a.m. – enter Gate 2 of north dome). All those attending the brunch will also have access to an autograph session with the current players from 9:45-10:30 a.m. EDT in the north dome – and there will be some limited public access to the autograph event as well (enter Gate 3). Then, VIP fans can sit in the gold chairback seats on the east side of the Stadium to enjoy their first look at the 2006 Irish. The VIP brunch is sponsored by South Bend Orthopaedic Associates.
There will be approximately 100 seats available ($75 each) in the Notre Dame Stadium press box where fans can have the same view as media covering Irish football. Fans seated in the press box receive a game program, as well as the same press box lunch fare served to media (hot dogs, soup, popcorn, soft drinks). The press box is available any time after 11:00 a.m. EDT.
A free-to-all interactive fan fest will take place from 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. EDT in the Joyce Center South parking lot.
Former Notre Dame football players will take part in a flag football game in Notre Dame Stadium from 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. EDT prior to the Blue-Gold contest. All former Irish football players will be invited back for the weekend.
The Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley will hold a silent auction of sports memorabilia on Saturday morning in the Joyce Center Fieldhouse, in conjunction with the VIP brunch.