With Liberty set to kick off the Hugh Freeze era on Saturday night against #22 Syracuse, the athletic department is preparing for a record-setting crowd.
“We’re looking forward to a record crowd,” Liberty athletic director Ian McCaw said Monday. “Because of the large crowd we’re expecting, we do encourage people to arrive early. Gates open two hours before the game. I think we will be into record territory in terms of our final attendance.”
With the addition to Williams Stadium prior to the 2018 football season, the capacity rose from 19,200 to 25,000. Only 6 games in Williams Stadium history have ever exceeded 20,000 with only two ever going over 21,000. The all-time record for attendance at Williams Stadium is 22,551 which was set September 19, 2015 against Montana.
When the Orange come to town, it will be Liberty’s first ever home game against a Power 5 opponent and the first time the Flames have ever hosted a nationally ranked team.
“We’re looking forward to a great atmosphere,” McCaw continued. “We think it will be an electric type environment for the Syracuse game and a record crowd. We are very excited about that.”
For the first time ever, to help with the expected crowd, Liberty students will need a bracelet coupled with a student ID to get into the game. There are 7,000 seats set aside for students, and over 5,000 bracelets have already been claimed. Once the 7,000 student seats are gone, they will get free standing room only tickets. Liberty officials expect to exceed the 7,000 student seats before the week is over.
