UC Davis will be taking additional precautions to help fans avoid heat-related illnesses during the Saturday, Sept. 22, home football game against Northeastern University at Aggie Stadium, and the campus will also be prepared to place more firefighters on duty at the stadium's fan assistance rooms for anyone needing aid.

At the same time, campus officials are advising football fans that traffic could be particularly heavy throughout the day because Saturday is also the first of two move-in days for student housing on campus. On move-in days, traffic across campus is traditionally heavy with many families traveling to Davis for the first time and needing to drive to their assigned residence halls, run errands and drive around campus to become familiar with their new surroundings. The Student Housing office has encouraged all students to check in early to avoid the stadium traffic congestion.

Those attending Saturday's game will find three large shade structures set up on the stadium grounds, and four smaller shade structures -- one at each of the four concession stands. In addition, the two Fan Assistance Rooms (located behind sections 108 and 120) will be stocked with dozens of cases of bottled drinking water to distribute to fans if necessary. Fans will be allowed to bring their own bottled water (in plastic bottles) and hand-held misters into the stadium. In addition, 200 bags of ice will be on hand for emergency use if needed.

Umbrellas will be allowed but only in the large grass berms at the north and south ends of the stadium. Backpacks, which will be subject to search, will also be allowed in the stadium so fans are better able to bring in items to help protect against the heat.

There will also be additional announcements made on the public address system throughout the game reminding fans to drink plenty of fluids, and wear sunscreen, hats and light-colored clothing. The announcements will also remind fans of the locations of the four public drinking fountains, behind sections 103, 107, 120 and 124.

"We are taking these additional steps to ensure that our fans have a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience at Aggie Stadium," Greg Warzecka, director of athletics, said at a press conference Tuesday to announce the plans. "We're strengthening our overall contingency plans, in case the expected temperature for Saturday is above 90 degrees."

Kickoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., and the stadium gates will open at noon.

Campus officials will take a check of the temperature at the stadium on Friday to determine firefighter staffing for the stadium on game day.

The UC Davis Fire Department will use a "trigger point" of 90 degrees F to determine whether additional staffing and ambulances will be needed. If the ambient temperature at the stadium at noon on Friday is close to 90 degrees F, then the fire department will provide additional staffing at the game the following day.

The fire department typically stations two firefighters at each of the stadium's two Fan Assistance Rooms. If the temperature on Friday hits 90 degrees, the fire department will place two additional firefighters at both sides of the stadium. The four additional firefighters will be able to assist fans located in the stands.

The fire department is also considering staffing an additional fire engine with three firefighters on a standby status, along with an additional ambulance and ambulance supervisor located at the stadium (there is typically one ambulance at the stadium for a football game).

UC Davis is one of only two UC campuses with a full-service fire department, and the firefighters assigned to the First Aid Stations/Fan Assistance Rooms are trained to the EMT 1A level.

Should the temperature reach 90 degrees on Friday, UC Davis will implement two additional measures:

• The football game will be cablecast live at the ARC Ballroom via ResNet, the campus's residence hall television network. In addition, the KHTK-AM (1140) broadcast of the game will be piped into the ballroom. The ballroom doors would open at 1 p.m.
• Four shuttle vehicles will be available to assist any fans in need to their personal vehicles in the campus parking lots.

As the campus prepares Saturday morning for the second home football game at the new Aggie Stadium, half of an estimated 4,550 residence hall students will begin moving into 33 buildings in the Segundo, Tercero and Cuarto housing areas at 7:30 a.m. Students will move into even-numbered rooms on Saturday and odd-numbered rooms on Sunday. For more housing check-in information, go to: http://www.housing.ucdavis.edu/Current/checkin_fall.htm#map.

To help minimize the anticipated heavy traffic, the following preferred routes and parking restrictions are planned:

With heavy congestion expected around the Tercero housing area, motorists are advised to avoid the Tercero area and Old Davis Road. Stadium traffic from I-80 should use State Route 113 and exit at Hutchison Drive, and then turn right on Health Sciences Drive for parking lots 53 and 57 in the Health Sciences District. Stadium traffic from downtown Davis is encouraged to use Russell Boulevard to La Rue Road and to park in the West Entry Parking Structure. Go to http://ucdavisaggies.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/gameday-parking.html for a view of the routing options and road closures. (Roads will be closed beginning at 11:30 a.m.)

Parking lots 47, 47a, 48, 48a and 44 will be closed to football fans and are being reserved for move-in to the Tercero area. Event and general use parking will be allowed in parking lots 30, 40, 41, 53, 57, and the West Entry Parking Structure. In these lots, the campus will charge the daily parking fee of $6 for all vehicles not displaying a valid UC Davis parking permit. These lots are expected to be full by noon. Parking lot 56 is reserved for Team Aggie Members and will not be available for general use. In other campus parking lots, no stadium restrictions will be in place, and parking will be available for no charge as it is on typical weekends.

For other stadium information, please consult: http://ucdavisaggies.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/07-stadium-info-central.html.