Big win for LU football opening game against ODU

Liberty University football kicked off its season at home Saturday, Sept. 1, against in-state rival Old Dominion University, and it was the first game since the stadium has been renovated. The stadium’s capacity was expanded from 19,000 seats to 25,000 seats, which means fan turnout is expected to increase as well.

“The student attendance has huge impact on the team,” Flames Athletic Director Ian McCaw said. “Obviously, that makes a big difference in terms of both helping our team and creating an intimidating environment for the visiting team.”

McCaw said the bigger stadium is going to give a much larger, big-time atmosphere than in the past. With the capacity increasing by 6,000 fans, intimidation will play an even larger role this season.

McCaw said that on top of the capacity increase, there is a new 3,000 square-foot video board in the North end zone. The Wi-Fi within the stadium has also been increased, with all 25,000 fans capable of streaming the game on their phones at the same time. In addition, there are new concession stands on the east side, where students have the option of using Flames Cash or Dining Dollars.

“I want to say thank you to all those people who have done so many prayers for many, many, many years, and now it’s come to fruition,” Head Coach Turner Gill said. “And it’s just exciting for our fans to have that opportunity to come here and be in Williams Stadium, renovated.”

Saturday, 20,425 fans came out to support the Flames, and they will look for an even bigger crowd at their next home game, Saturday, Sept. 15.