U of M prepares for Thursday’s season opener

Thursday night is the day Gopher fans have been waiting for – it’s the team’s season opener.

The Gophers will have home field advantage as they take on New Mexico State at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Fans attending the game are reminded the University has gone mobile for tickets as of 2021, meaning if you’re looking to go to the game, you’ll need to buy your tickets online.

There are some tickets left on the second level, with prices starting around $30. CLICK HERE for ticket and parking information.

Keep in mind that you can’t get back inside once you go through the gates, and you’ll need to buy your food and drinks inside.

RELATED: Q&A: Former Gophers coach Tracy Claeys on Jerry Kill’s return Thursday, P.J. Fleck, and more

As far as what happens on the field, head coach PJ Fleck says this season is another opportunity to learn from his players.

“I think when you’re at the beginning, teaching, I’ve had year one and two at two different places, and year one and two you’re constantly working on getting people to understand what the expectation is, and what the culture is, and how we’re going to do this. But when you start to get year six, you watch the players start to run it, and start to lead, and then they pass that down from one to another and you learn a lot from your players as you go through,” said Fleck.

Thursday morning, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with Mike Wierzbicki, the Senior Associate Athletic Director for the University of Minnesota.

Wierzbicki says Thursday’s game will be like a family reunion.

“This place will be rocking, lots of things to do,” said Wierzbicki.

He says there will be music, inflatable items for children, and lots of new food and beverages. He also said there will be some traffic, so try to arrive early.

You can watch his interview at the bottom of this article.

Kickoff is at 8 p.m., and gates will open at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Happening ahead of the game, Culver’s will be handing out free cheese curds and frozen custard from 5:30-8 p.m.

The event is a result of a vote during a “From Wisconsin With Love” food truck tour. Culver’s guests were able to nominate their city to be the final stop on the 17-city tour, and Minneapolis was declared the winner.

In addition to the free food, guests will also be able to watch a large block of cheddar cheese that weighs at least 80 pounds be carved into the shape of well-known landmarks throughout Minnesota and play frozen custard-themed Plink to win prizes.

Previously, the restaurant chain said it would also give guests a chance to vote for one of two local charities to get a donation from the company – either Urban Ag Day or the Randy Shaver Foundation would receive a $5,000 donation and the runner-up would receive a $2,500 donation. However, the company later stated it had decided to split the donation in half, giving each organization $3,750.