Kentucky football will play the grand opening game in The New CWS against UL Lafayette on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. and leading up to kickoff, UK Athletics will host a series of events to commemorate the big day, punctuated by a free pregame concert featuring Sundy Best.
“The opening of The New CWS marks the beginning of a new era of Kentucky football and the culmination of a great deal of hard work by many people,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “We look forward to celebrating with our fans the first game played there with a special environment before and during the game.”
The events will be headlined by a pregame concert featuring Sundy Best, a country duo formed by Kentucky natives Kris Bentley and Nick Jamerson. The concert will be held next to the Green Lot adjacent to Gate 1 of The New CWS.
Matthew Mitchell and the Go Big Blue Band, with the UK women’s basketball head coach serving as lead singer, will open. The concert is set to begin at approximately 3 p.m., with Sundy Best to take the stage at 4 p.m. and break for the Cat Walk at 4:45 p.m.
The national anthem will be performed by a choir composed of singers from each of Kentucky’s 120 counties to celebrate the connection shared between the Bluegrass State and its flagship university. The United States Army Parachute Team, known as the Golden Knights, will deliver the game ball to the field by parachute before the team is introduced on the new field for the first time at 6:55 p.m.
UK football will also hold its annual Fan Day on Saturday, Aug. 8, at 9 a.m. inside Nutter Field House. Kentucky student-athletes and coaches will sign autographs from 9-10:15 a.m. At the conclusion of the autograph session, fans are invited to attend an open practice at the Tim Coach Practice Fields at the Nutter Training Center that will last from approximately 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
The grand opening of the new stadium will also be celebrated with a number of other events prior to Sept. 5, including a time capsule ceremony.
The New CWS will open next month after a $120-million renovation transformed the longtime home of Kentucky football. The stadium will feature a striking exterior; new concourses, concessions and restrooms; premium-seating areas; new team facilities; and a state-of-the-art recruiting room.
Fans can purchase season tickets, single-game tickets for home and away games, and 2015 mini-packs by visiting ukfootballtix.com.
Below are additional details for Fan Day finalized since the initial release in late July:
· Nutter Field House doors will open at 9 a.m. The autograph session is inside Nutter Field House.
· 2015 Kentucky football posters and schedule cards will be available at Nutter Field House.
· A map of where student-athletes and coaches will be lined up for autographs is available online at UKathletics.com. Assistant coaches will be seated with the position players they coach, except for offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot.
· To help the autograph session lines move along fans are asked to limit autographs to one autograph per person and to not pose for pictures with student-athletes or coaches.
· Autographs will end at 10:15 a.m. and fans are invited to attend an open practice at the Tim Couch Practice Fields at the Nutter Training Center that will last from approximately 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
· Parking will be available in the Red Lot, Green Lot and Blue Lot adjacent to The New CWS and Nutter Field House.
· Fans may either walk to the open practice or park near the Tim Couch Practice Fields, in the C8 lot behind the right-field fence of Cliff Hagan Stadium, Parking Structure 7 or the three designated Employee lots on Sports Center Drive, north of Cooper.
· Fans are reminded to be mindful of the ongoing construction in and around Commonwealth Stadium. Please do not enter Commonwealth Stadium.
From UK Athletics/Guy Ramsey