The final countdown is on for Saturday night’s 2023 Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Notre Dame and Navy Football.
The much-anticipated game is set to attract over 40,000 travelling fans and is estimated to benefit the local economy to the tune of at least €147million, maybe more as we learned in our Sport for Business Podcast from Tuesday that you can listen to below.
The game itself will kick off at 7.30 pm in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday 26th August, marking the opening fixture, Week Zero of the 2023 College Football season.
As title sponsor of the game Aer Lingus have been transporting both teams, their delegations and equipment to Dublin this week on special charter flights ahead of the game.
Although tickets for this year’s 2023 ALCFC are fully sold out, fans can still get involved in the fun as there are plenty of other events taking place across the city.
The Global Ireland Football Tournament 2023 (GIFT), a Tripleheader of games is taking place in Energia Park on Friday 25th August, headed by four top US high school squads from Florida, Tennessee, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
A series of events including pep rallies, medical summits, business, sporting, networking and academic events are also taking place around Dublin throughout the week.
A full schedule of activities for the week along with tickets for purchase to the high school football games (GIFT) are available through the official Game Week App.
Dame Street will be renamed Notre Dame Street for the weekend. Dame Street will be closed to vehicle traffic between 8pm on Friday 25th and 10pm on Saturday 26th August and will be the home of Notre Dame tailgating action on game day (Saturday).
The ALCFC official merchandise store is located at 2 Central Plaza, College Green and open all game week, including Sunday after the game.
The Aer Lingus College Football Classic official app has an interactive map of Dublin City, recommendations for attractions, restaurants, and bars across Dublin and the rest of Ireland, all of which will provide best in class welcome for the fans and business for the country.
Transport and security information, along with key information about the Aviva Stadium is also included
“We are very excited to welcome the Notre Dame and Navy fans to Dublin this week for what is set to be a great festival of football,” said Padraic O’Kane, Director and Co-Founder of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dublin City Council, An Garda Síochána, the National Transport Authority and all our game Stakeholders who have been very supportive in ensuring we have the necessary resources and plans in place to deliver a positive event experience for all.”
“We’re encouraging all attendees to download the official ALCFC app which has all the key information for getting to and from the game.”
“Dublin has become the home away from home for US College Football, and with the fantastic line-up of events taking place across the city over the weekend, it is a great opportunity to showcase our capital and all it has to offer,” added Councillor Daithí de Róiste, Lord Mayor of Dublin.
“We play a unique and special role in making the Aer Lingus College Football Classic happen, not just as title sponsor but in flying the teams and the many thousands of US visitors travelling to Ireland for the event,” said Lynne Embleton, CEO of Aer Lingus.
“This year’s game will see the largest single movement of US citizens internationally for a sporting event which is a significant milestone and represents a huge opportunity to showcase Ireland as the great destination it is. We look forward to extending a warm Aer Lingus welcome to all those travelling to Ireland for the game.”
