Ohio Stadium is preparing for winter weather ahead of Saturday’s game

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As the Buckeyes prepare to host the newest game in the program’s history, the campus is taking proactive measures to ensure the safety and comfort of fans during Saturday’s game.

Mike Penner, executive associate athletic director, said preparations are underway to treat parking lots, streets and sidewalks with snow melt to help fans travel safely from the parking lots to the stadium.

“When they enter the stadium, we want them to be safe too,” Penner said. “On Friday we will be pre-treating the corridors and the hall to make sure it is ready for use. We will come back on Saturday and look for areas that may have thawed and are still a little slippery.”

While some stadiums have heated fields, Penner noted that Ohio Stadium does not.

“There are some approaches where you put a tarp over the field and then blow heat underneath. We don’t think we will use that approach,” he said. “As temperatures have been above freezing throughout the week, we currently expect the field to remain in good condition, but we will continue to monitor it.”

The stadium is currently getting a good workout for the Stadium Series, which pits the Columbus Blue Jackets against the Detroit Red Wings on March 1st. This involves covering the field and setting up ice and glass. Penner explained that this is a “completely different operation.”

Efforts have been made to install heat tracing systems to prevent pipes from freezing. “Tracing is like an electric current that is applied to the pipes and keeps the pipe warm enough so that it doesn’t freeze,” Penner said. “Knowing that we may have a playoff game and a hockey game, we continue to heat trace all of our pipes.”

Penner is optimistic about the stadium’s preparations/

“We feel like we’re in a really comfortable position for Saturday’s game,” Penner added. “We are working on permanent heat in all stalls. We’re not quite there yet.”

Additional plumbers have been hired to address any plumbing issues and efforts are continuing to ensure concession stands remain heated.

The Buckeyes take on the Volunteers at 8 p.m. You can watch the game on ABC 6.