Plenty of activities, fun on tap for fans

Independence makes a successful landed during pregame last season

The Auburn family will have plenty of activities to get into the game-day spirit before and after Saturday's season-opener against UMass in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Before the Hugh Freeze-era of Auburn football kicks off Saturday afternoon, fans who roll into town early and want to catch some Auburn sports can check out the Tigers' soccer team clash against Wake Forest at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Auburn Soccer Complex. The Tigers will also host a game on Sunday against American at 2 p.m.

On Friday, fans can take in the high-flying skills of birds of prey at Auburn University Raptor Center's Football, Fans and Feathers event, which features a raptor show of some feathered favorites, including hawks, falcons and eagles.

The hour-long program will be held at 4 p.m. Friday at the center's Edgar B. Carter Educational Amphitheater, located at 1350 Pratt-Carden Drive off Shug Jordan Parkway.

Those who want to attend the free event can bring their own chair, food and drinks.

Later on Friday, the Auburn campus will open for tailgating at 4 p.m. At the same time, fans can take a tour of the locker rooms in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Admission is free and the tour can be accessed at the south entrance of the Harbert Family Recruiting Center.

On Friday night from 5 to 9 p.m., the Downtown Merchants Association will host the season's first Come Home to the Corner event. The entertainment district event will feature the live entertainment of The Brokers Band from 6 to 9 p.m., as wells as extended shopping hours at downtown retailers. The Come Home to the Corner events will take place every Friday night this fall before home football games.

On Saturday, the free Tiger Fan Fest will open at 10:30 a.m. on the Nichols Center lawn, while a live broadcast of the Tiger Tailgate Show will begin at 11:30 a.m. outside of Gate 7.

At noon, the student gates will open, with the rest of the gates at Jordan-Hare Stadium opening at 12:30.

The spirit march by the Auburn University Marching Band will begin at 1:10 p.m., with pre-game festivities beginning on Pat Dye Field at 2 p.m. The pregame eagle flight typically takes place 20 minutes before kickoff, which is set for 2:35 p.m. on Saturday. The university is asking fans to wear white for the contest.

In addition to the usual activities, fans can expect to see some game-day enhancements, which were announced last week. According to a news release by the university, those include:

Off the heels of record-setting season ticket sales, and through the introduction of several new premium seating options and experiences within Jordan-Hare Stadium, seating capacity for the 2023 season has been increased to 88,043.

The concessions experience at Jordan-Hare Stadium is taking a big step forward in speed and efficiency through the introduction of new grab-n-go and market style shopping concepts. These six new experiences will be spread throughout Jordan-Hare Stadium and will provide a new type of simplified concessions option to get fans back to their seat as quickly as possible.

The four new "Fast Flight Grab-N-Go" experiences are designed specifically with speed and efficiency in mind. These spaces will provide streamlined concessions offerings and will provide fans the opportunity to walk through an intentionally designed concession line, grab the items they want to purchase as they progress, and proceed to the check-outs at the end of the line.

These stands will be located in the following locations:

• Lower West Concourse – Near Section 10

• Lower East Concourse – Near Section 24

• Upper West Concourse – Near Section 53

• Upper East Concourse – Near Section 114

The two new "Bodda Getta Grab-N-Go Express Marketplaces" will operate like a C-Store and are designed with variety and shop-at-your-own-pace in mind. These experiences will provide an open shopping experience, allowing fans to browse from a larger variety of concessions options — including all traditional concessions-fare, as well as new health-conscious options such as Amsterdam Café wraps — before moving to the check-out line. These marketplaces will feature standard check-out lines, as well as new camera based Mashgin instant self-checkout lanes to increase speed and efficiency at the point of sale.

These marketplaces will be located in the following locations:

• Lower Northwest Concourse – Near Section 44

• Lower Northeast Concourse – Near Section 35

Fans can expect speed and reliability during the 2023 football season. Along with industry-leading cellular (Verizon and AT&T) service and Verizon 5G, Auburn has upgraded its in-venue WiFi system. This upgrade includes the latest WiFi6 technology, covering all stadium entrances, concourses, clubs and general seating. Any fans in attendance may now connect at no charge to the AU_Guest network with no password required on gameday while in the stadium and various public spaces around the Auburn campus.

In order to provide improved accessibility within Jordan-Hare Stadium, closed captioning has been added to the ribbon boards found on both the east and west sides of the stadium. This service will be available on the northeast and southwest ends of the ribbon boards throughout the entirety of each game and will provide captions for all public address announcements and videos. Additionally, fans may visit AuburnTigers.com/CC to view the captioning service directly on their mobile device while inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Continuing a multi-year effort, the entire lower west bowl of Jordan-Hare Stadium has been refurbished – to include new paint and concrete surfacing, new bleachers, and new slip-resistant step coating.

The play clocks at Jordan-Hare Stadium now have a new home atop the lower bowl in each end zone. These new play clocks are larger in size and provide a more visible sight line for our Auburn Tigers on the field and all fans inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The team entrance tunnel located adjacent to the Davis Family Locker Room at Jordan-Hare Stadium now has a new look — featuring all new LED lighting and uniquely-Auburn branding. This new tunnel experience, along with new pyro and smoke effects, will enhance the exciting moment when our Auburn Tigers take Pat Dye Field through the tunnels of the Auburn Tigers Marching Band.

Stadium lighting will reach an entirely new level this season through the introduction of expanded choreographed lighting effects for videos and music, as well as the addition of a new motion-based spotlight system allowing for never-before-seen experiences inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The center of the energy of atmosphere in Jordan-Hare Stadium just got more exciting with the introduction of the official stadium DJ into the middle of the student section.

In partnership with Jackson Services and Carrier — official partners of Auburn Athletics — a new concept is being added for gameday on the Auburn University campus designed to create a comfortable and inclusive environment for individuals and families with special needs. This partnership includes the addition of a dedicated tent on Nicholls Lawn near the ADA bus drop off location, while also introducing special needs supplies to all in-stadium first aid stations for families who need assistance on gamedays. The accessible tents and spaces will offer private spaces for individuals who need a quiet and secluded environment and are designed to ensure easy entry and exit for all attendees, including those with mobility challenges. Learn more at SNASY.vip.

New dedicated cooling tents – featuring Carrier HVAC units — have been added around the Jordan-Hare Stadium concourse to service fans who need a place to cool down during games. These locations can be found adjacent to each first aid station inside the station, as well as a 20x40 tent located on Nicholls Lawn. Tents are open to parents, children, elderly individuals, and anyone seeking a moment of rest and relaxation.

Touchdown moments are getting even more exciting inside Jordan-Hare Stadium this season with the addition of new special effects — including pyro and field-level CO2 effects.

A new flagship station in Auburn-Opelika has been introduced for Auburn Football through WINGS 94.3. This includes gameday coverage beginning three-hours prior to kickoff with the Tiger Tailgate Show presented by Conecuh Sausage and concludes with the Regions Bank Locker Room Report. Fans who are interested in listening to the live broadcast while inside Jordan-Hare Stadium may do so with no delay with the purchase of a Live Sports Radio device. These are available via cash only stands on the concourse for $25 at gates one, 12 or 15 or by cards at the AU Team Shops. Previously purchased devices may be reprogrammed for only $10.

Auburn Athletics has launched a brand-new mobile app, designed in partnership with WMT. This new app will provide fans with a mobile experience that is more customizable, easier to use and offers exciting new features to enhance the overall gameday experience at Jordan-Hare Stadium - including: mobile concessions ordering, interactive stadium maps, live scores and stats, and more.

Auburn Athletics announced that SeatGeek will be the new Official Ticket Marketplace of Auburn University Athletics beginning with the 2023-24 academic year.

All tickets listed on SeatGeek are fully verified and delivered seamlessly. This new partnership, introduced in coordination with Paciolan at schools across the country, replaces prior secondary market partnerships and will now be the sole fully integrated, secondary-market partner for Auburn Athletics.

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