Syracuse, N.Y. -- Syracuse University is encouraging fans to download the Waze app ahead of trips to the JMA Wireless Dome this year in order to limit the impact they experience from congestion related to ongoing construction on Interstate-81.
Syracuse University Vice President & Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala said using the app could be especially helpful this year given the construction occurring in and around Syracuse.
Sala provided the advice at a press conference on Tuesday to discuss change at the JMA Wireless Dome this year.
Sala said that there have been road closures at Fineview Place, Renwick Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard that are likely to impact fans utilizing the school’s West Campus parking lots.
“The MLK entrance to the back of the Dome is closed,” Sala said. “They’re closed forever. That happened as part of the project.”
Sala said that Syracuse employees monitoring traffic during the game are able to communicate with Waze, giving the school input on how to alleviate congestion around the building.
Despite the changes, Sala said he thinks those who have experience coming to the Dome will be able to navigate the I-81 construction without substantially more effort.
“Our football and basketball season-ticket holders know it so well,” Sala said. “It’s when we get into non-football and non-basketball and we’re needing people to park in other lots that we have an issue.”
Sala also said the university plans to put out 16 electric signs to help direct drivers as they approach the dome.
The traffic patterns around the Dome will continue to change as the year progresses, another reason why Sala encouraged people to get accustomed to using the app during the football season.
“It’ll get a little bit deeper into it as we move forward through the year but probably the football season will stay pretty much with the changes that people will encounter as they come to this game,” Sala said.
“When they close Colvin Street, which is going to happen here pretty soon, that’s going to be a challenge for us. But we’ll get through it.”
Some gates will open later
Syracuse will continue to allow fans to enter the dome two hours before the opening kickoff, but it will limit the number of gates that are open that early.
The school will open Gates A, B, C and P, as well as its VIP entrance two hours early. The rest of the gates will open 90 minutes before opening kick.
Miron Victory Court
The school “soft-launched” its new space for fans in Miron Victory Court late last season during games against UConn and Miami, then opened the area for select basketball games.
The indoor space. which includes food, beverages, televisions and high-top tables, will be opened 90 minutes before kickoff before every game.
Fans will probably find it especially inviting in bad weather.
The school will also debut the Sala Family Plaza on Saturday. The outdoor space sits near Miron Victory Court.
Key times
Syracuse’s football team will continue to participate in its Quad Walk, where Fran Brown and the football team walk through rows of fans on the quad on their way into the dome.
That will happen at 9:45 on Saturday and traditionally takes place 135 minutes before opening kickoff.
Syracuse will begin its pre-game festivities on the quad at 9 a.m.
The school will also begin providing limited bus service from its parking lots at 9 a.m. (three hours before the game) and limited service at 10 a.m. (two hours before the game)
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