• McLane Stadium opens one month from today

    McLane Stadium

    After two years of planning and construction, we are now one month — one month!! — from the opening of McLane Stadium. The Bears will host SMU on Aug. 31 (6:30 p.m., FS1), but the game itself is just part of the opening weekend celebration.

    Fans will get their first opportunity to set foot inside McLane Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 28, as part of the free Traditions Rally and Community Celebration. Doors open to all guests at 5:30 p.m., an excellent chance for Bear fans to tour the stadium. A season-opening pep rally begins at 7:30, followed by a free concert by former American Idol winner Phillip Phillips and finally by a fireworks show.

    [LINKS: See a live view of McLane Stadium || Videos: turf installation, locker room tour, loge box tour]

    The next night, McLane Stadium will host a high school football game between Aledo and Cedar Park (7:30 p.m.). The contest will give Baylor gameday staff a trial run before Sunday’s opener, and offers fans a chance to see football played at McLane Stadium for the first time.

    On Sunday, Touchdown Alley will open at 3 p.m., and the Robert Griffin III statue on the nearby South Plaza will be dedicated in a short ceremony at 3:15. The first Bear Walk (formerly March of the Bears) at McLane Stadium follows, starting at 4:00 near the Baylor Alumni Network Tailgate tent across from Touchdown Alley.

    Fans attending the game will want to arrive early — to learn the new traffic patterns, to explore the new tailgating environment, to see the RG3 statue dedication, to find their stadium bricks, and to explore the stadium before kickoff.

    To help Bear fans adjust to everything that’s new at McLane Stadium, two new websites will launch in the next week: BaylorBears.com/gameday, with information on parking, tailgating, stadium policies, etc., and baylor.edu/students/gameday, which will feature information specific to the student gameday experience. (Bookmark those sites now for use all season.)

    Sic ’em, Baylor Nation!

    [Still looking for tickets to the opener (or any other game)? A limited number of single-game tickets will go on sale August 6 at 8:30 a.m.]