ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Tens of thousands of football fans from the University of Michigan and Michigan State will attend the game under the lights in Ann Arbor on Saturday evening.
Officials say it’s an all-hands-on-deck affair for evening games, especially during Michigan college football’s biggest rivalry game.
“We will have additional patrols, not only downtown, but also in the university areas, but also inside the stadium and outside and around the stadium,” said Ann Arbor Police Sergeant Mark Pulford.
It is also the first season that alcohol will be sold in the stadium.
Michael Jordan is the general manager of Sodexo, the stadium’s official caterer.
He said they are prepared for Saturday night.
“We did a refresher with our team; we had three weeks off between the last game and this game coming up,” Jordan said. “But really, we just stick to our policies and make sure we don’t over-serve guests; we identify guests every time; we turn guests away when we think it’s appropriate.”
He said alcohol service at the stadium could change depending on the situation.
“Our policy is that we stop serving at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but that is the last quarter,” Jordan said. “We can stop serving around half time if we feel it is in the interest of our fans and the safety of everyone here in the stadium.”
Pulford said night games present a different challenge than games that start at noon.
“Because it is a night game, there is obviously some concern that people will have more time to consume alcohol,” he said. “We want people to come to the city and have a good time, but in a safe way.”
Julie Weatherbee lives down the street from the stadium.
She said interacting with fans is part of the course in her neighborhood.
“It’s actually a very quiet neighborhood when there’s not a football game on, but during football season it’s completely wild,” Weatherbee said. ‘You just have to be prepared for anything.
“We’ve had to call the police, we’ve had to call an ambulance, we’ve had to give people water or snacks to people. You name it, it’s happened at a football game.”
For fans attending the match, police will wear badges with QR codes on them that can be scanned for frequently asked questions and safety tips.
Several street closures and diversions around the stadium will be in effect three hours before kick-off until the end of the match.
Kick-off for the match is at 7:30 PM
