Tickets for the 2024 Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Georgia Tech and Florida State University this August went on general sale yesterday and are nearly all sold out.
The fixture will take place at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, on Saturday, 24th August 2024. It will see Georgia Tech return to Dublin for the first time since 2016, while it will be the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) State Champions Florida States’ first ever game in Ireland.
Kick off from the Aviva Stadium will be at 5pm local time.
The game is to be broadcast on ESPN reaching an anticipated live audience exceeding 3.5 million viewers in the United States. ESPN’s College GameDay, will broadcast live from Dublin city centre from 2-5pm on the day, launching the 2024 College Football season. This marks the first time that College Football’s premier pregame show will broadcast from outside the U.S. Sky Sports will also be showing the game to Irish and UK audiences.
Over 20,000 U.S. fans are confirmed to travel to Ireland for this “Week Zero” fixture. An additional near 10,000 tickets went in the pre-sale to committed fans who had pre-registered and there was another surge in general sale tickets yesterday.
It is a brilliant occasion on a weekend that is very special all across the City and if you have never been it is one to consider for the summer. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.ie/collegefootball
Florida State Head Coach Mike Norvell was in Dublin yesterday for a US Ireland CEO Club Dinner hosted by Eversheds Sutherland in Dublin.
In conversation with Matt Cooper he spoke with passion about making this a special occasion for the players that they will remember all of their lives.
The team will be staying on for an additional 24 hours in Dublin and undertaking a number of fan based and sightseeing activities. For many of the players, part of the logistics involved is securing their first passport.
You really need to experience a US Coach in full flight to understand the excitement and the intelligence they bring to their sport.
Florida State are almost trebling the number that would normally travel as part of the marching band and cheer teams, an indication of how big they are treating this game as being.
The Georgia Tech team features David Shanahan, a Kerry native and a member of the 2017 Kerry All-Ireland Minor football winning team.
Shanahan is the first Irishman to earn a full scholarship to play American college football. He is now in his fourth season with The Yellow Jackets. In his three previous seasons the Kerry man has amassed an impressive record, punting 179 times for 7,632 yards, with his longest punt reaching a distance of 71 yards.
Notably, Shanahan made it to the shortlist for the Ray Guy Award last season, an award that honours the best punter in college football.
If he takes part in the game this summer he will also become only the sixth Kerry man to play in the stadium since it was reopened in 2010.
Florida State University, known as the Seminoles, will travel to Dublin to play their first game ever in Ireland. The Seminoles finished the 2023 regular season undefeated with a perfect 13-0 record, their first undefeated season since 2013. The three-time National Champions and 2023 (ACC) State Champions are one of American college football’s most widely supported teams, playing their home matches at the 79,560-capacity Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.
“Aer Lingus is proud title sponsor of the College Football Classic and plays the unique role in flying the teams and the many thousands of US visitors to Ireland for this exciting event and program of activities,” said Lynne Embleton, CEO of Aer Lingus.
“The hosting of The Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin not only gives the people here the opportunity to experience the excitement of a college football game but is also a huge opportunity to showcase Ireland to an international audience.”
“This year’s fixture, which will see the welcome return of Georgia Tech and the first visit of Florida State, will be the third consecutive season-opening game of the US College Football Season cementing Dublin’s position as the European Home of College Football,” added Padraic O’Kane, Co-Founder and Director of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
“We are excited to have this fixture attract 20,000 plus US visitors staying on average seven nights throughout the island of Ireland, in addition to 3.5 million plus live US TV audience via ESPN showcasing Ireland at its very best on a global stage. A full program of leisure, business, academic and sporting events will take place throughout game-week 2024 as part of the ‘Much More Than A Game’ steering committee enterprises.”
The Aer Lingus College Football Classic will be part of the programme at the Sport for Business Sports ~Tourism event being hosted at the University of Limerick on Thursday morning, March 28th.Sports Tourism Conference for University of Limerick
Aer Lingus and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic are full members of the Sport for Business community.
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