close
close

topicnews · August 29, 2024

What’s new about Alabama football game day 2024?

What’s new about Alabama football game day 2024?

The University of Alabama is preparing to welcome thousands of fans to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the start of the 2024 Alabama football season.

Drivers are encouraged to plan ahead and arrive early for games this season, said Ken Colvert of the Alabama Department of Transportation’s West Central Region.

More: How restaurants in Tuscaloosa are preparing for the rush on game day

“The biggest mistake we see is not leaving early enough,” Colvert said Tuesday at a press conference outside the stadium on the UA campus.

“I would advise everyone to go early… plan ahead and be patient. There will be a lot of people in town. You just have to be patient, drive in and follow all the necessary signs,” he said.

According to James Spann, chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, people can expect sunny weather and temperatures in the 30s for Saturday’s game. The Crimson Tide will play Western Kentucky at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is at 6 p.m., and ESPN will broadcast the game.

This season also marks the debut season for Kalen DeBoer as Alabama’s new head coach. Nick Frenz, UA’s assistant director of event management, said that in addition to a new coach, fans can expect some changes in game operations this season.

The biggest change fans can expect this season is the Walk of Champions, where fans can cheer on Alabama players and coaches as they get off the team bus and head to the stadium for the game. This season, the Walk of Champions will take place about two and a half hours before kickoff, which is slightly earlier than in years past under now-retired coach Nick Saban.

That means the Walk of Champions will take place this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Frenz said that change was made because of DeBoer’s preference.

“Well, it’s just the new coaching regime. He wanted to come here at a different time, and I think he wanted to be here earlier than in the past. That’s why we’re doing it for two and a half hours, and it’s going to stay that way throughout the season,” Frenz said.

Frenz said the other big change UA fans need to be aware of is several construction projects on campus that will impact parking availability.

“There are some construction projects going on on campus right now that are eliminating some parking spaces that we’ve had in the past. One of them is at Coleman Coliseum. We’re losing about 350 to 400 parking spaces there, which will impact not only the football season, but the basketball and gymnastics seasons as well. So we have to overcome those challenges,” Frenz said.

More: When the tide turns: A look back at the transition from Saban to DeBoer

“And then a new building is being built on the east side of campus by the nursing school, which will take away about 500 parking spaces that we had for the public. So we’re experimenting with other locations for the bigger games to try to recreate some of those parking spaces in other locations,” he said.

The rest of the game operations will be similar to last year in terms of security, parking and road closures, Frenz said. UA has a website, uagameday.com, with all of that information and more. Fans can also use the website to download the UA Gameday app directly to their smartphones.

Fans can also tune in to UA Info Radio on 92.5 FM for more information and updates.

ALDOT is currently planning several road construction projects, but none of them should impact game day traffic, Colvert said.

“We have several projects underway, but there should be no lane closures for any of these projects on game weekends, everything should continue as normal,” he said.

Colvert said motorists can use the ALDOT traffic app to stay up to date on road closures and other information. Visit algotraffic.com or download the ALGO Traffic app to your smartphone for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

One week after the home opener, UA will face South Florida on September 7. Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium will be dedicated in honor of Nick and Terry Saban. The UA-USF game will begin at 6 p.m.

Here is the rest of UA’s home schedule:

  • 28 September: Georgia
  • October 12: South Carolina
  • October 26: Missouri (homecoming)
  • November 16: Mercer
  • November 30: Auburn

Reach Jasmine Hollie at [email protected].

You may also like...