There will be some changes for fans as the college football season gets underway Saturday with Iowa State hosting UNI at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. ISU Associate Athletic Director, Nick Joos, says a lot of work has been going on in the parking lots north of the stadium.
“And they are newly configured with straight in parking. There’s also a fire lane now, that is painted for drive lanes in the new paved parking lot. And those drive lanes obviously, are for safety and need to be kept clear at all times, ” he says. The work on the parking lots is part of the preparation for the Cy Town area that is being built. Joos says another change is the move to cut the use of cash inside the stadium.
“Both concessions and at our merchandise stands throughout the facility we have elected to go cashless at the really at the request of our concessions partner,” Joos says, “just from a safety standpoint, and just logistically, hopefully to move the lines through quicker.” They are also requiring you to have your game ticket on your phone.
“In the past, you maybe could get into the game with a screenshot of your ticket. But this year, you’ll actually need to have that game ticket with your barcode on your phone as you enter,” he says. “And that is to really prevent fraud and to again to secure the tickets for the owner and the patrons.” Joos says you can find all the information you need about these things on the Cyclones.com website.
They will be making adjusts for fans as the forecast is calling for the very warm temperatures to return. Joos says you will be able to bring a water bottle into the stadium. “It can be unopened or empty upon entry. We’ll also be giving away about 15,000 water bottles as well to fans as they come in,” Joos says. “There are multiple water bottle filling stations throughout the concourse, there’ll be a water monster cooler in each corner of the stadium, four total, where fans can fill up their bottles.” The ground floor of the Jacobson administrative building is air conditioned and open to the public if someone needs to come in and get out of the heat. Iowa State and UNI kickoff at 1 p.m. in Ames.
The University of Iowa hosts Utah State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. A spokesperson for Iowa says there are no major changes from last year, other than construction on the streets outside the stadium. They will also be allowing you to bring in water bottles due to the expected warm temperatures.