Harvey Moves Season Opener to New Orleans

For the third consecutive season, an LSU Football game has been affected by weather issues, with today’s announcement that this Saturday’s Texas Kickoff with BYU will be moved from Houston’s NRG Stadium to The Louisiana Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

ESPN and the Texas Bowl partnered to creat this matchup, and were responsible for sourcing a new location, in partnership with the leadership of both football programs. The announcement was made today by ESPN and LSU.

"Efforts are underway in New Orleans and we will work with the fans, the Superdome, the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau and both schools throughout the week to ensure the most optimal game day experience for all," said Pete Derzis, ESPN senior vice president of college sports programming and events.

The AdvoCare Texas Kickoff was relocated due the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey to Houston and the surrounding areas.

"ESPN had to make a difficult decision and we are well aware of the awful circumstance that led to this move," said LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva. "Every storm is different, but we in Louisiana understand a little about what all of those in Harvey’s path are going through right now. It’s heartbreaking and our prayers go out to all who are impacted."

Alleva said all parties involved worked closely to find a solution.

"During the last few days, we were overwhelmed with the outreach by the communities offering to host this event, specifically, Dallas, Jacksonville, Nashville, New Orleans, Orlando and San Antonio," said Derzis. "We have great partners within those cities through the Football Bowl Association and we appreciate their energy in finding a solution."

"I want to thank my staff here, ESPN, NRG officials and BYU for the professionalism with which this was all conducted," said Alleva.

In 2015, LSU’s season opener with McNeese State was called off due to rain and lightning and never rescheduled. Later that season, flooding in South Carolina caused the Tigers’ conference matchup with the Gamecocks to be moved from Columbia to Baton Rouge, with all proceeds given to the University of South Carolina to help mitigate their loss. Last season, the Florida game was famously, after much controversy, postponed and ultimately rescheduled in Baton Rouge due to Hurricane Matthew.

The game will now be scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. central kickoff on Saturday night, on ESPN. LSU had the following for people who bought tickets through LSU:

LSU also announced today that tickets and parking passes purchased through the LSU ticket office for the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff will be automatically refunded beginning Tuesday, Aug. 29. Ticketholders can expect to see the balance of their purchase refunded by Sept. 5.

The LSU ticket office will work in conjunction with AdvoCare Texas Kickoff officials to set up a purchasing structure for that event. LSU will alert fans when tickets are available.

If you bought tickets through a 3rd party service, I’d suggest you contact their customer support immediately