Billy Joel, Johnny Cash, Whitney Houston and Garth Brooks are among the famous names to grace the University of Notre Dame’s football stadium as performers. On Saturday, Notre Dame Stadium will add another artist to this listing, hosting Luke Combs on his “My Kinda Saturday Night” tour. The country artist is set to take the stage at 5:20 p.m. alongside Dierks Bentley, Ty Myers, Jake Worthington and Thelma & James.
The concert comes just six months after Zach Bryan played at the stadium to a packed house in September. The concert was announced by the University in October, and they expect its attendance will exceed 80,000 people.
As preparations are underway, the University’s Operations, Events, and Safety team is working to ensure safety for all students and concert-goers over the weekend.
Logistically, the event will function very similarly to a normal football weekend, according to Mike Seamon, vice president for University Operations, Events, and Safety, in a written statement to The Observer.
“In many ways, they are identical. The logistics of moving 80,000 people safely in and out of the stadium, the parking protocols, and the energy on campus feel very much like a typical Saturday in the fall. The primary difference is that these events allow us to further strengthen our ties with the local community, bringing people together through a shared love of live music,” wrote Seamon.
Seamon also noted that, as with a regular football game, the full game day hospitality teams and parking coordination will be utilized. His team has also worked with local businesses to prepare for the influx of people to the campus and the greater South Bend area.
Lee Sicinski, executive director of University Events, also noted in a statement to The Observer that the operations of the concert will be very similar to those of the Zach Bryan concert.
Over the course of the week, the stadium has undergone a transformation to create a setup and stage similar to the Zach Bryan concert. Sicinski wrote that this setup allows for both standing and seated fans not only in the traditional seats but also with floor seats. He noted that this allows for an addition of several thousand people to the typical seating capacity and that this is “one of the largest ticketed events in the history of Notre Dame Stadium.”
Sicinski continued that it is his number-one priority to protect the stadium and playing surface, especially as they are putting up lighting, sound equipment, other technology effects and “the largest stage we have seen to date.”
Keri Kei Shibata, assistant vice president for Campus Safety and chief of police of the Notre Dame Police Department, shared in a written statement to The Observer that campus safety and the safety of concertgoers are going to be on the same level as a regular football weekend.
“Our preparations are built on our gameday model. We have scaled our staffing and patrol to handle more than 80,000 guests. This includes everything from traffic control to perimeter security and interior stadium safety,” Shibata wrote.
However, she did note that some policies shift to accommodate concertgoers having field-level access.
As with football games, the NDPD will be enforcing a clear bag policy and screening at the gates of the stadium. Shibata stated that while NDPD does not release a specific number of officers who will be at the event, staffing will be similar to a football Saturday. NDPD will also be working with local agencies in regard to traffic patterns in the area.
“We work in lockstep with the South Bend and St. Joseph County Police Departments, as well as state agencies. These partnerships allow for a unified command, ensuring things run smoothly and are secure,” Shibata wrote.
Road closures and parking restrictions will be enforced, so Shibata encourages concertgoers to refer to NDPD’s social media to view parking and traffic maps.
In regard to possible inclement weather, Seamon noted that University Operations, Events, and Safety have continued to monitor the forecast weather and will communicate directly with concertgoers if weather-related decisions are made for the show. He encouraged concertgoers to opt in to University Alert for weather communications during the concert by texting UNDFANS to 226787.
“Notre Dame Stadium is iconic, and we want it to be a vibrant part of the community year-round. We hope to continue hosting these major events as a way to bridge the gap between the University and the community,” Sicinski wrote.
