NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — There’s a buzz outside of S.B. Ballard stadium at Old Dominion University this week as the Monarchs prepare to host Virginia Tech.
The game is sold out — that’s 22,000 tickets. Police are expecting thousands more to show up for the tailgate parties outside, however.
“My gameday started this morning,” ODU Police Chief Garrett Shelton said.
Shelton will have all 80 of his officers on duty. They’re also calling in backup from the Norfolk Police and Norfolk Sheriff’s departments to help with crowd and traffic control. but that’s the easy part.
“The hard part is, when we win, it gets very exciting around campus,” Shelton said.
Preparing to protect fans is a big job — and so is preparing to entertain them.
“Yeah, I think we’re all excited,” said Rain Cooke, Monarch Marching Band field conductor. “One of our favorite stand tunes to play is ‘Neck’, because halfway through it, we start singing like, ‘Hey, you talking out the side of your neck.’ I can’t wait when we’re beating them and we get to play it.”
No matter which team takes the win on the field, area restaurants are counting on a victory at their cash registers.
“We got some Jim Beam promotional swag we’re handing out — some sunglasses, t-shirts, so we’re really expecting a good crowd for it,” said Hair Of The Dog Eatery supervisor Shae Miller. “A lot of people stop in here, even ones like rivalries that are going against each other. Everyone has a good time. Everybody in here together, we’re all one team.”
Shelton reminds fans to arrive early and celebrate safely, and if you’re not going to the game, you’ll probably want to steer clear of Hampton Boulevard Saturday.
