And now we have the final, expected and official word.
In a press release, the Green Bay Packers confirmed that the 2016 LSU-Wisconsin game will be played at historic Lambeau Field. The game will be played on Sept. 3 and serve as the season opener for both schools.
The news comes a day after UW’s Board of Trustees reviewed the contract and nearly six months after rumors of such a game first surfaced.
“I’m very excited about this game and I hope our fans are too,” UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a statement. “We have a great working relationship with the Packers and Mark Murphy and I want to thank them for all their help in getting this game scheduled. It is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our program, a great experience for our players to play in one of the most revered stadiums in the country and a terrific chance for our fans to see us play a quality opponent in the state of Wisconsin.”
The 2016 game will be the second of a “home-and-home” series between the two programs. To open the 2014 season, LSU will “host” Wisconsin at Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
That 2016 game will mark the first-ever at the stadium between two FBS teams, and just the fourth college game ever played there. The release states that “St. Norbert College twice hosted Fordham University at Lambeau Field in a Vince Lombardi Memorial Game, winning both contests. The Green Knights defeated the Rams 14-10 on Nov. 20, 1982, and 18-9 on Nov. 19, 1983. St. Norbert also hosted Mankato State College on Oct. 29, 1960, defeating the Indians, 29-14.”
A game involving the Badgers at Lambeau Field has been discussed for years, although only in the last several months did it become an attainable goal.
“We’re honored to be able to host two storied college football programs at Lambeau Field,” said Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy. “It will be an exciting weekend for football fans at our historic stadium. The Green Bay community will serve as an excellent host and we all look forward to seeing fans from both teams that weekend.
“I’d especially like to thank Barry Alvarez and (LSU AD) Joe Alleva. It’s been a pleasure to reconnect with them to put this game together.”
UW is expected to be paid $3 million for staging the game at Lambeau.
The university will be given 40,000 tickets — Lambeau seats just under 81,000 — which will be divvied up as follows: 7,500 student tickets discounted at least 40 percent off the lowest-priced general admission ticket; 450 for the UW band; and 300 for the families of players. The remaining 32,000 tickets in the school’s allotment will go on sale to the public at an undetermined date.
(Photo credit: Green Bay Packers)