Canvas Classic: Ticket, parking, gameday info for high school football rivalry games

Kelly Lyell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·4 min read
Poudre High school running back Jordan Niesent carries the football during an Oct. 29, 2021, game against Rocky Mountain at French Field. The city rivals will meet again Friday, Sept. 30, in the first game of a city rivalry doubleheader, the Canvas Community Classic, at Colorado State's Canvas Stadium.
Poudre High school running back Jordan Niesent carries the football during an Oct. 29, 2021, game against Rocky Mountain at French Field. The city rivals will meet again Friday, Sept. 30, in the first game of a city rivalry doubleheader, the Canvas Community Classic, at Colorado State's Canvas Stadium.

High school football in a college stadium.

It’s an opportunity the players, coaches and students at Fort Collins’ four largest high schools have been anticipating for months.

It becomes their reality Friday with the first high school football games ever played at Colorado State’s Canvas Stadium. Poudre and Rocky Mountain will kick off the doubleheader of crosstown rivalries with a game at 4:30 p.m., followed by Fort Collins vs. Fossil Ridge at 7 p.m.

“I’m so excited. It’s probably going to be the most fun game of my high school career,” said Fossil Ridge junior lineman Gage Ginther.

Poudre School District, CSU and Canvas Credit Union, the title sponsor, are hoping to make the Canvas Community Classic, first announced Feb. 4, an annual event.

“It’s a neat opportunity for our kids,” longtime Rocky Mountain coach Mark Brook said. “It’ll be fun to watch the boys out there competing at CSU. It’s a great venue. Hopefully, we can get some backing from the city of Fort Collins to come out and watch the kids compete.”

Here’s what you need to know about the doubleheader:

How do you get tickets?

Tickets are $10 apiece and can be purchased in advance online through CSU's athletic website, CSURams.com. They can also be purchased in person at the Canvas Stadium ticket office on the north side of the stadium after 3 p.m. Friday.

All PSD students and employees will be admitted for free but will need to show a valid school ID for entry. CSU students will also be admitted for free with a valid university ID.

Only PSD employees/students themselves will have free entry. Additional family members or guests will need their own tickets.

Where can you park?

CSU will make parking free (starting at 3:30 p.m) in four lots on campus:

  • Morgan Library Lot No. 425

  • Moby Arena Lot No. 195

  • Lake Street Parking Garage Lot No. 570

  • College Avenue Garage Lot No. 577

A limited number of parking spaces for those with handicapped license plates or placards will be available on the west side of the stadium and in CSU Lot No. 240 just west of the stadium.

The university’s standard parking restrictions will be in effect for all other lots on campus.

What can you bring?

CSU’s clear-bag policy for athletic events is in effect.

What's not allowed in the stadium:

  • No outside food or beverages are permitted.

  • Backpacks, purses, fanny packs or computer/camera bags

  • Folding stadium seats

What is allowed in the stadium:

  • Each person may carry one clear, plastic, vinyl or PVC bag smaller than 12-by-6-by-12 inches, including clear-plastic freezer bags of one-gallon or smaller.

  • Small clutches no larger than 4 ½ by 6 ½ inches, with or without a strap, will also be permitted as will bags of an appropriate size containing medically necessary equipment

  • Blankets and jackets can be carried separately.

  • Cameras and binoculars not in a carrying case are permitted.

  • Empty, clear water bottles without lids and made of crushable plastic

A limited number of concession stands will be open for cashless transactions.

All fans will have to pass through metal detectors or alternate security screening for entry.

Where do you enter Canvas stadium and where can you sit?

All fans must enter through Gate 1 on the north side of the stadium. It will open at 3:30 p.m.

  • Students, pep bands and fans of the participating schools will have designated seating areas in the lower bowl of the 36,500-seat stadium

  • The Rocky Mountain and Fossil Ridge sections will be in the west stands

  • The Poudre and Fort Collins sections will be in the east stands

  • Students and families of younger PSD students are encouraged to sit in the cheering sections of the high schools that their elementary and middle schools feed into

General admission seating will be in the south end zone.

Pregame, in-game activites and entertainment

Inflatable play structures that are part of CSU’s RamTown game-day tradition will be set up just north of the stadium along the Ram Walk route on Meridian Drive.

Halftime festivities: Each game's halftime will include a mini dance-team and cheerleader clinic and unified flag football showcase, featuring students from the schools in that game.

Players and coaches from PSD’s middle schools and its two newest high schools, Timnath and Wellington, will be recognized on the field between games.

Title sponsor Canvas is donating $5,000 per school toward the purchase of new equipment at each of the four participating high schools. Another sponsor, Scheels, is donating $5,000 to PSD for the purchase of an awards podium for its middle-school sports championship events.

How can you watch, listen?

Both games will be live-streamed through FanVu and broadcast live on the radio by KFKA (AM 1310).

Kelly Lyell reports on CSU, high school and other local sports and topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, follow him on Twitter @KellyLyell and find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Canvas Classic: What to know for Rocky-Poudre, Fossil-Fort Collins football