By Harry Minium
Imagine spending a few hours before an Old Dominion football game sitting back in an easy chair, drinking a brew and downing a Qdoba burrito or Chick-fil-A sandwich while watching college football on a mega-sized TV?
And all within a one-minute walk of S.B. Ballard Stadium.
ODU officials have added a whole slew of attractions to the pregame activities traditionally held on Kaufman Mall that will allow you to do that and more.
Football Coach Ricky Rahne pushed ODU to bring more fan-friendly amenities to Monarch home games and the University responded. Officials hope to make Kaufman Mall a center of pre-game activities, much as The Grove is at Ole Miss.
Here's what's new:
* For the first time, Kaufman Mall will have a beer garden serving many kinds of domestic and foreign brews.
* Qdoba and Chick-fil-A will be selling food on Kaufman Mall, as well as inside the Webb Student Center.
* There will be a mobile truck with a giant-screen TV showing live college football games.
* ODU has added an ESPN Game Zone with tons of games for adults, including corn hole, jenga and oversized chess and checkers.
* Fans will have a chance to interact with every ODU football player and coach as the traditional Monarch Walk into S.B. Ballard Stadium returns to Kaufman Mall after an absence of several years.
* Finally, there will be musical entertainment before every game. The Deloreans, a popular cover band in the region that plays all 80s music, will play before the first game on Sept. 11, when ODU opens against Hampton.
Game time is 7 p.m. Kaufman Mall will open for activities at 3 p.m. – four hours before game time, as it will all season.
It will be ODU's first home game since Nov. 30, 2019. ODU did not play football last season because of the pandemic.
The attractions are designed to meet the needs of fans and families who want to enjoy pregame activities without the hassles of having to lug food and drink from their cars.
It is also designed for fans who park in the Chartway Arena public lots and thus can't tailgate. Kaufman Mall is a five-minute walk from the Chartway Arena decks, which are open to the public at no charge.
Located between the front of the Webb Student Center and Hampton Boulevard, Kaufman Mall is an oasis of open space on ODU's growing campus, a grassy field of several acres surrounded by trees and classroom buildings that is only steps from S.B. Ballard Stadium.
"There are very few schools that have a Kaufman Mall, such a vast open area perfect for gathering that's right next to a football stadium," said Jason Chandler, senior associate athletic director for external operations and revenue generation.
"We hope it becomes the central point for our fans to start their engagement with football as they get ready to go into the stadium."
Dr. Chandler said that Rahne spoke with him about trying to make games more engaging for fans only a few days after being hired.
The All Veteran Parachute Team will parachute prior to ODU's opener
"Anything that gets the fans excited and helps them cheer loudly, I'm for it," Rahne said. "Anything that will bring fans to our games, let's do it because we're going to need their support."
The ESPN Zone, presented by Max Media, is an addition to the traditional bounce house games for kids that have become a Kaufman Mall tradition. Max Media owns ESPN Radio, which carries ODU football and basketball games.
The ESPN Radio pregame show, featuring ODU radio voice Ted Alexander and color commentator Andy Mashaw, will also be held on Kaufman Mall.
The Monarch Walk traditionally wound its way through Kaufman Mall, but that practice ended in 2018. Rahne is bringing the walk back to Kaufman Mall.
About two hours before game time, coaches and players will walk out the front doors of Webb Center into Kaufman Mall and then across 49th Street to the stadium.
The welcome from family, friends and fans is an important part of the pre-game ritual for most college football teams, Rahne said.
Cheerleaders and the band will be on hand to welcome the team.
"These walks in general are part of your home-field advantage," Rahne said. "You've got your home crowd behind you. The players kind of know where their parents are going to be, and you get to hug your mom one last time before the game.
"And it gives fans an opportunity to see the guys up close and humanize them a little more. In football, you have a helmet on all the time. I think it will be great opportunity for our fans to see our players interact with their families."
The Hampton game is designated a "white-out" game, meaning fans are asked to wear white.
ODU will also mark the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 in New York and Washington. Hundreds of active duty and retired military personnel will be guests of ODU and the pregame will feature a parachute jump by the All Veteran Parachute Team, a group of veterans and active duty personnel.
ODU will also have enhanced fireworks that will be shot from the top of the Atlantic Bay Mortgage Football Complex.
Season tickets or 3-game mini plans can be purchased online at www.ynottix.com or by calling Justin Ross at 757-683-3360.
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