Contact: Joe Farris
With record crowds expected for seven home football games at Mississippi State this fall, the university is adopting new parking, picnicking, and tailgating policies to promote convenience and safety while protecting the campus landscape.
The policies spell out when and where parking is permitted and designate some exclusive picnicking areas in which vehicles will be excluded.
Generally, parking areas closest to the football stadium are restricted to either Bulldog Club pass holders or vehicles displaying a permit for the disabled. Several large lots are open to parking and tailgating by anyone for a $10 per vehicle fee. Lots on the east, west, and south periphery of the campus are free and open for parking and tailgating.
A number of landscaped grounds on the central campus, including the popular Bell Island area in front of Hull Hall and the lawns around the Lloyd-Ricks Building and Dorman Hall, will be roped off for "picnicking only" on a first-come, first-served basis. No vehicles or trailers of any kind will be allowed in these picnicking-only areas.
To reduce congestion and traffic delays, the new policy also establishes special vehicle routes to be in place after each football game. Officers of the Mississippi Highway Patrol, local law enforcement agencies, and the MSU Police Department will direct post-game traffic according to the plan.
The complete parking and picnicking policy, along with a color-coded map of the campus showing parking areas, picnicking areas, restricted areas, and traffic routes, is available on the Internet at http://msuinfo.ur.msstate.edu/parking/. Thousands of brochures including the regulations and map are being mailed to all season ticket holders and others.
Additional information or a copy of the brochure may be requested by telephoning (662) 325-9114 during Monday-Friday business hours or e-mailing mike@saffairs.msstate.edu.
Mississippi State's football season opens at home on Labor Day, Sept. 3, with a night game versus Memphis and ends on Thanksgiving night at home versus Mississippi. South Carolina visits on Thursday night, Sept. 20. The remaining four home games are on Saturdays.
The first-phase expansion of Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, including east-side club level seating and luxury skyboxes, is to be finished prior to the start of the season. The second phase addition of an east-side upper deck may be finished before the final game. When complete, the expansions will bring seating capacity to about 51,000.
Among highlights of the MSU football parking policy:
--Parking is permitted only in designated areas and not on islands, medians, berms, or the shoulders of streets and roads.
--Tailgating is allowed in all designated parking areas provided it does not obstruct traffic flow or infringe on another parking space. No tents are allowed in parking spaces.
--Both parking and picnicking areas are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Spaces may not be "saved" in advance.
--Parking and picnicking areas may be occupied starting at 7 a.m. on the day of a Saturday or holiday football game or five hours before the Thursday night game with South Carolina.
--All recreational vehicles must park in designated RV lots.
--Free parking is located at the Cooley Physical Plant Building and Auxiliary Plaza on Russell Street on the west side of campus; at the College of Veterinary Medicine and at the nearby Scales Building on the south side of campus; and in several large day student parking lots located east of Hardy Street and behind the Longest Student Health Center, Simrall and Bowen halls, and the Roberts Laundry.
Among highlights of the post-football game traffic plan:
--MSU's new north entrance road will be open by the Labor Day start of football season and will be the main egress from campus for northbound traffic to U.S. Highways 82 East and West. The north entrance road will be designated northbound one-way after each game.
--East Lee Boulevard from the eastern edge of campus to the Mississippi Highway Patrol Station on Hwy. 82 will be closed after each game. Vehicles previously using that route to Hwy. 82 now must take the new north entrance road.
--As in the past, Spring Street/Blackjack Road along the southern edge of campus will be one-way from Stone Boulevard west to handle traffic bound for Highway 25 South. Access to Blackjack Road will be from Hardy St. and Stone Blvd. Morgan St. and Magruder St. will be closed after each game.
For information about work-related game-day parking for faculty and staff, see http://www.ur.msstate.edu/news/announce/staff_parking.asp.