For the second consecutive Saturday, Tiger Stadium will remain silent.
After last week’s opener against North Texas was postponed, officials have decided the second game of the season against Arizona State will be moved to the Sun Devils’ stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The LSU athletic staff, Coach Les Miles and Chancellor Sean O’Keefe met throughout the week with Arizona State officials to reach the decision.
“We began preparing for this situation before the storm even hit,” O’Keefe said. “With refugees housed in several buildings around campus, we did not think having the game in Tiger Stadium was worth the risk, especially since there is a viable alternative.”
With the move, Miles will have to make his LSU coaching debut away from the home crowd.
“You never want your coach to open up the season on the road, especially to a top 20 team, and lose home field advantage,” Bertman said. “In the end, there were some concerns that we just couldn’t control.”
The game will be designated as a home game for the Tigers, and ticket holders will be allowed to use their tickets at Sun Devil Stadium if they choose to make the 22-hour drive. All proceeds from the game will go to the Hurricane Katrina relief fund.
Despite the loss of home field advantage, the team is ready to begin its season.
“I’m excited for several reasons,” said senior receiver Skyler Green. “It’s going to be enough practices, and we get to go against another team. It’s going to be fun. We will just think of it as a home game and get as many home fans down there as we can. We will treat it like a home game and just go out and play and enjoy ourselves.”
Plans for rescheduling the North Texas game still are taking place, in addition to the possibility of relocating the Sept. 24 game against Tennessee, which the Tigers are scheduled to host. Whether students will receive refunds for tickets is undecided, Senior Associate Athletic Director Dan Radakovich said.
Contact Tabby Soignier at [email protected]