1000 x 90

New Stadium Parking Deck to Open This Week; How Will That Affect Football Tailgating?

Final touches are made to the parking deck in this Aug. 7 photo. Photo by Marie Freeman

By Nathan Ham

The new parking deck in the Stadium Lot is all set to open for the 2019 fall semester at Appalachian State University. The deck will be open for students moving in this weekend after a final inspection and a Certificate of Occupancy from the town of Boone, according to construction updates provided on August 5 by Assistant Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Matt Dull.

“We are down to the last, really, week and a half of the parking deck,” Dull said last week. “So the most significant things are finalized for that deck, literally down to the last little things to clean up some paint that fell on the floor or all sorts of little touches that you just want to make sure are right when you get a new building.”

Dull said that Monday is the target date for getting their official Certificate of Occupancy from the town of Boone.

“All of our new first-year students who live on campus will be moving in on the 16th and we want to have that parking deck ready for them,” said Dull. “We’ve already started selling permits for the parking deck for the 2019-20 school year, both for faculty, staff and students as well. It’s just exciting to have one of the parts of the project almost checked off.”

Classes starting back also means that the beginning of college football season is just around the corner with App State playing three of its first four games in Kidd Brewer Stadium.

With the bulk of the stadium parking spots being used for the new parking deck and for ongoing construction of new student housing buildings, questions have come up as to where Yosef Club members that normally park in the Stadium Lot will be parking this season and in the future as construction will be continuing well into 2020 and 2021.

According to a parking update from the university, those Yosef Club members and season ticket holders will have several other locations to park. 

Top of the Rock: This new lot is located behind the Mark E. Ricks Athletics Complex, adjacent to the current Champions Lot (previous site of the Appalachian tennis courts). Donors assigned to Top of the Rock should utilize Stadium Drive, turning onto Jack Branch Drive and following the road around the stadium, past the Sofield Indoor Practice Facility and beyond the Champions LotTop of the Rock is the final parking area on Jack Branch Drive behind the Mark E. Ricks Athletics Complex and will be clearly marked for your convenience. You will exit postgame utilizing the same route.
 
Champions Lot: This lot remains located directly behind the Mark E. Ricks Athletics Complex. Donors assigned to the Champions Lot should utilize Stadium Drive, turning onto Jack Branch Drive and following the road around the stadium, past the Sofield Indoor Practice Facility. Champions Lot will be the next lot on the right and will be clearly marked for your convenience. You will exit postgame utilizing the same route.
 
Softball Lot: This new lot is located between the Sofield Indoor Practice Facility and Sywassink/Lloyd Family Softball Stadium. Donors assigned to Softball Lot should utilize Stadium Drive, turning onto Jack Branch Drive and following the road around the stadium. Take an immediate right after passing the plaza for the Sywassink/Lloyd Family Softball Stadium but before reaching the Sofield Indoor Practice Facility. The lot will be clearly marked for your convenience. You will exit postgame utilizing the same route.
 
Mountaineer Lot: This new lot is located adjacent to Bowie Hall & Eggers Hall, close to Kidd Brewer Stadium. The Mountaineer Lot is comprised of the former Bowie/Eggers parking lot and the top of the new Stadium Deck that’s flush with the Bowie/Eggers lot. Donors assigned to the Mountaineer Lot should utilize Stadium Drive, turning onto Jack Branch Drive and taking an immediate right after Bowie Hall. The lot will be clearly marked for your convenience and have two points of exit postgame. You may exit postgame utilizing the same route or by proceeding down through the levels of the Stadium Deck to the new exit road next to the Schaefer Center. The new exit road will provide one-way access to Rivers Street.
 
Stadium Deck: This new lot is located between Eggers Hall & Frank Hall. Donors assigned to the Stadium Deck should utilize Stadium Drive, turning onto Jack Branch Drive and taking an immediate right before (so a new path will open on that side of Bowie?) Bowie Hall. The lot will be clearly marked for your convenience, and have two points of exit postgame. You may exit postgame utilizing the same route or by proceeding down through the levels of the Stadium Deck to the new exit road next to the Schaefer Center. The new exit road will provide one-way access to Rivers Street.

The Mountaineers will open the 2019 football season at home against East Tennessee State on August 31 with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. This will be Hall of Fame Day and will feature a special Jerry Moore Celebration.

An Aug. 7 photo of the framing work underway on Building 100, foreground, and Building 200, at left. Both projects are on schedule to open for fall 2020. Photo by Marie Freeman