Kicking off a new era of sports and entertainment on campus
Lindsay Stewart Glor
This June, Investors Group Field will welcome football fans for their first game-day experience, ushering in a new era of athletics at the University of Manitoba. The Manitoba Bisons will play four home games at the impressive stadium this year, while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will host 10 games, starting with an exhibition game against Toronto on June 12.
Boasting eight acres of roof — making it the largest canopied structure in Canada — Investors Group Field is built to impress, with every effort made to enhance the event day experience for football fans and concert-goers alike.
In an effort to ensure that getting to and from the stadium, as well as the rest of campus, on event days is a similarly positive experience, the University of Manitoba partnered with the City of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Football Club to create an Event Day Transportation and Parking Plan.
The main things that members of the university community should remember on event days are that:
– The event day plan goes into effect 90 minutes before an event begins and ends 60 minutes after it concludes.
– U of M parkers are encouraged to leave via King’s Drive when the plan is in effect.
– There will be no casual parking spaces available on campus beginning 90 minutes before an event, until an hour after the event concludes.
– When the event day plan is in place, parking for those with U of M parking permits will be limited to A Lot, L Lot (except L Residence), B Lot, AC Lot (southeast corner of Freedman Crescent) and CT Lot at the Crop Technology Centre.
– About a half hour after an event starts, traffic will open up and vehicles can enter and exit campus as they wish.
To keep staff and students apprised of event day parking and other transportation-related news, the university will be sending out regular communications via email and the @UMoutstanding Twitter account. The U of M map has also added a handy stadium layer, which outlines U of M-only parking on event days.
The plan, which includes information for regular parkers, casual parkers, transit riders, cyclists and pedestrians, can be found at:
>>U of M map: umanitoba.ca/maps/
Upcoming events
Wednesday, June 12: Winnipeg Blue Bombers; event starts 7:00 p.m., parking restrictions begin 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22: Taylor Swift Concert; event starts 7:30 p.m., parking restrictions begin 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 27: Winnipeg Blue Bombers home opener; event starts 8:00 p.m., parking restrictions begin 6:30 p.m.
This article first appeared in the June 6, 2013 edition of The Bulletin.