Saturday's football game moved to Richmond

1:33 p.m., Oct. 11, 2005--The site of this Saturday’s home football game between the University of Delaware and the University of Richmond has been moved to Richmond Stadium due to unplayable field conditions at Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium, UD Director of Athletics Edgar Johnson announced Tuesday.

Nearly four inches of rain fell in Newark this past weekend, and much of UD’s Homecoming game against Hofstra University was played in a steady rain. Delaware Stadium’s natural grass field has hosted four games during the first five weeks of the season, and more rain is forecast in the area for the remainder of this week.

The Oct. 15 game will be played at noon and will not be televised. Originally, the game was set to begin at 3:15 p.m. and be televised live on CN8. Live radio broadcasts will be available in Delaware on the Blue Hen Radio Network (WRDX The River 94.7 FM) and the University of Delaware student station (WVUD 91.3 FM). Internet broadcasts will also be available at [www.river947.com] and [www.wvud.org].

“We pursued several options regarding this week’s game vs. Richmond and determined that moving the site from Delaware Stadium was the best alternative for the two competing teams,” Johnson said. “We want to ensure the fairest and most competitive playing surface, and with last week’s rain and this week’s forecast for more we would not be able to provide that. We would not have enough time to get the field ready for play on Saturday.”

Johnson added, “Our plan has been to replace the Delaware Stadium playing surface at the end of this season, and we had hoped to get through this year. However, with the unprecedented rainfall last week, we’ve been forced to make this move. We realize the inconvenience this causes our loyal fans, and we hope that they will bear with us as we work through this.”

Johnson noted that other Delaware Valley area stadiums were considered as alternative sites, but after consulting with officials from the Atlantic 10 Conference and the University of Richmond, 21,139-seat Richmond Stadium was determined to be the best option. Although the University of Richmond will provide all the staffing for game operations, the contest will be considered a home game for the Fightin’ Blue Hens. UD will still travel to Richmond for next season’s contest on Oct. 21.

Game tickets that have already been purchased will be honored at the Richmond Stadium gates the day of the game. All seats will be general admission. UD season ticket holders, whether they attend the game or not, will receive credit towards their 2006 football season ticket purchases by calling the UD Season Ticket Office at (302) 831-2257 at the conclusion of the season.

Fans who purchased single game tickets through Ticketmaster and who cannot attend the game are eligible for refunds through Ticketmaster by calling (302) 984-2000.

Tickets for the game can be purchased for $15 through the University of Richmond Ticket Office by calling 1-877-SPIDER1 or at the Richmond Stadium ticket office the day of the game. Parking and game programs will be free.

Fans from the Delaware area can travel to Richmond Stadium by taking I-95 south toward Richmond. Take I-195 South (Downtown Expressway) to the Rosewood Avenue exit and turn left at McCoy Street. Richmond Stadium will be located on the right.

Article by Neil Thomas

E-mail this article

To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here.