Foreman Field parking plan tackles residents' concerns

NORFOLK

Parking for a 20,000-seat stadium?

Not a problem.

That's the message school and city officials delivered Thursday night when they met with the civic league of two surrounding neighborhoods to prep residents for the start of football at Old Dominion this fall.

In the 13 years since Foreman Field last hosted college football games - it was the home field for Norfolk State football and annually hosted the Oyster Bowl - ODU has built five parking decks and fully expects its fans to park on campus.

Each ticket-holding fan will be assigned to a parking lot, and anyone looking to park in the Larchmont and Edgewater neighborhoods near Foreman Field will find the area heavily patrolled by police. Many of the neighborhood streets are posted one-hour parking zones for non-residents.

"We're going to be very unsympathetic if a (game) ticket holder gets ticketed in a neighborhood because we are offering ample parking on campus," said Bob Fenning, ODU's vice president for administration and finance. "Plus, the parking is free."

ODU will close its parking lots the night before games, and then open them four hours in advance of kickoff - meaning 2 p.m. for all but the

Nov. 7 homecoming game against North Carolina Central, which starts at 2 p.m.

Members of the Larchmont/Edgewater Civic League, many of whom have lived there long enough to recall parking issues when Norfolk State played at Foreman Field, voiced concerns about potential Saturday invasions.

But assistant city manager Stanley Stein assured there would be a heavy law enforcement presence on game days in the neighborhood and said tailgating on the neighborhood streets by non-residents will be prohibited.

One resident pleaded for others to have patience and allow ODU and the city to deal with the issues and surprises that will occur as they arise.

"All of us have to be rigidly flexible with this," said Buddy Kerr, who lives on Cedar Lane and is within walking distance of the stadium.

"I've found that with ODU, they work out the bugs in the system quickly," said civic league president Dave O'Dell, who intends to ride around with police officers the first couple of games. "They are very good about it."

ODU officials know there will be a large walk-up contingent from the neighborhood.

"Our research shows there are 963 season-ticket orders from people who live in the surrounding neighborhood," said Mike Fryling of Global Spectrum, the group that runs the Constant Center for basketball and will run game-day operations at Foreman Field.

"One of our pressing concerns there is that we have enough bicycle racks. We found during the scrimmages at Powhatan Field in the fall that a lot of people were riding bikes there."

The parking lots closest to the stadium will be for the Big Blue Club members who make the largest contributions to the athletics program. Other parking assignments will work their way out away from the stadium.

The WHRO television station lot across from the stadium on Hampton Boulevard is expected to be a popular lot and is the largest single-area flat lot that will be employed.

Tailgating will be allowed in specific lots but not in the parking decks. Those parking in the decks and wishing to tailgate will be asked to picnic on the lawn at Kaufman Mall in front of the Webb Center, which is about 200 yards from Foreman Field.

Officials promise Kaufman Mall will be a focal point of pregame activity, with bands playing on the steps of Webb Center and a plethora of food vendors.

About four hours before kickoff, 49th Street will be closed near the stadium, creating a safer walkway from Kaufman Mall to the stadium. And Bluestone Avenue, located west of Foreman Field and opposite Hampton Boulevard in relation to the stadium, will have limited traffic and access to residents.

Fenning said for the most part, Hampton Boulevard will operate as normal on game days.

"It's a day-long activity to attend a football game," Fenning said. "We do not foresee traffic issues. It's not as if everyone coming to the game will descend on the place at the same time."

Rich Radford, (757) 446-2463, rich.radford@pilotonline.com