Lane Expansion Not Limited to Luxury Boxes
by Neal Turnage
August 30, 2006

Hokie fans may be pleasantly surprised to find that Virginia Tech has given them something that they have been wanting for some time now – increased accessibility to the already new and improved Lane Stadium.

In the past, trying to get into the stadium at game time could be a nightmarish experience for not just fans, but for security and medical personnel as well.  The multitude of people trying to get in coupled with too few entry points resulted in back-ups at security screenings and injuries due to too many people in too small an area. 

Fans had complained that the bottleneck caused many of them to miss the team’s “Enter Sandman” entrance and, in some cases, the kickoff itself.

Frank Beamer said at the media day press conference, “When we roll out in this stadium, it’s a happening…I don’t think there’s a group of fans in the country that try to help a team win more than our fans…I think it’s definitely an advantage.”

Of course, that advantage lessens when those fans cannot get to their seats.

The plan this year, according to athletic director Jim Weaver, is to extend the area where the original student gates once stood by about twenty yards.  A new entrance will also be added to the east side at the 50-yard line (Gate 8). 

Students will now be allowed to enter through all stadium gates but are encouraged to come in through the ones that correspond to their tickets.

While much interest has been given to the new luxury and press boxes, few have paid attention to the work that is being done around the northeast and east areas of the stadium.  Crews have quietly cleared and widened an area between the east wall and the wood line and have removed the original gates to make room for a well-lit, paved path.

In addition to the new entry points, a new fence is being installed around the stadium.

Fan safety and security should also benefit from the increased access as the changes may allow for easier traffic flow through that section, preventing trampling and allowing security personnel to better perform their duties.

Weaver said that control of the gates has been turned over to a private company and the in-stadium ushers received increased training in dealing with inebriated fans.

The extended opening and increased options for entrance may translate to more of the 66,233 seats being filled when “Enter Sandman” starts up for the first time this season.

Virginia Tech’s home opener kicks off Sept. 2 against Northeastern at 1:30 p.m.