District officials say Dunning Stadium will have capacity for about 4,200 attendees for Thanksgiving morning’s Turkey Bowl, and that New Canaan High School as the home team in this year’s rival game will sell 60 percent of the tickets, Darien 40 percent.
Zach Allen tackles a Darien kid at the 2014 Turkey Bowl. Terry Dinan photo
Asked about a major change in the logistics of the hugely popular football game—under which only advanced, not game-day, tickets will be sold (details below)—NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan said the district has been keeping “very close accounts this year of comped tickets, student passes and the whole nine yards, so we know how many people are in [Dunning] Stadium.”
The 4,000-plus capacity figure represents 2,000 in regular seating, 1,000 in standing-room, and another 1,000-plus between larger bleachers and smaller units from baseball and softball facilities that are being brought in, Egan said.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi, asked about the plans during a presentation before the Town Council on Wednesday night, noted that Boyle Stadium (capacity 10,000) was not available this year for the Rams-Blue Wave game. While the FCIAC has done away with its own conference championship game, the league has preserved the Thanksgiving Day rival games. This year’s Stamford High School-Westhill High School game is to be played at Boyle, home of the SHS Black Knights.
“We are proud to have it at Dunning and we have done what we can to expand capacity there,” Luizzi said.
For the past two years, the Blue Wave has captured the coveted Turkey Bowl crown, winning the FCIAC championship in the process. New Canaan and Darien remain the only unbeaten teams in the conference this season, after notching wins last Friday night over Fairfield Ludlowe and Staples, respectively.
Egan noted that next year’s Westhill-Stamford High School game is to be played at Westhill, so Boyle Stadium could be available for the Turkey Bowl in 2017.
For this year, tickets can be purchased in the NCHS gym foyer from 12 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 21 and 22, and 12 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 23,