November 05, 2021

• NOTRE DAME TO HOST NAVY IN AVIVA STADIUM ON SATURDAY AUGUST 26TH, 2023
• 2023 GAME SET TO PROVIDE €147M ECONOMIC BOOST TO IRELAND

5th Novemebr 2021: Organisers of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic have today announced details of the second game in the five-game series, which will see Notre Dame host Navy on Saturday August 26th, 2023 at the Aviva Stadium Dublin. The announcement comes ahead of the clash of the two teams this weekend in South Bend, Indiana.

The 2023 game will be the first time that Notre Dame will move a home game to Ireland and with 40,000 US fans expected to travel, the game is set to provide a major boost to the country. Grant Thornton and Failte Ireland economists have calculated the 2023 fixture to be worth €147m directly to the Irish economy. The 2023 fixture is scheduled for week zero and will be the opening game for the 2023 College Football Season. The Game will be broadcasted by NBC with an expected TV audience more than ten million viewers.

The teams previously met in Dublin in 2012, with Navy hosting Notre Dame in a sell-out fixture which saw 35,000 US visitors travelled to Ireland to watch Navy V Notre Dame – a world record of US fans to travel outside the US for one singular sports event, greater than any Ryder Cup or World Cup. The game proved to be a major catalyst in the ambition to make Dublin the home of College Football outside of the US and utilize the fixtures to further strengthen business and academic ties between Ireland and the US.

After cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the five-game series kicks off next year with Northwestern University (Wildcats) taking on the University of Nebraska (Cornhuskers) in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 27 August 2022. The first opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2022 game will be during the official pre-sale on Friday 19th November 2021. You can register your interest in tickets at CollegeFootballIreland.com.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin commenting on the announcement: “The past year and a half have been challenging for us all in Ireland and the United States. Today’s announcement that Notre Dame will play its first-ever home game in Ireland against Navy is extremely exciting and welcome news. The movement of this game to Ireland will provide a significant boost to our tourism and hospitality industries. We will have a very special welcome ready for the teams and supporters of Notre Dame and Navy when they visit us for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in August 2023.”

Speaking about the announcement Lynne Embleton, CEO of Aer Lingus said: “Today’s announcement is a significant one for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic – it is great to see such momentum in the series which we know will help put Ireland, and indeed Aer Lingus, in the hearts and minds of college football fans right across the USA. With international travel so curtailed for the last 20 months, we believe that there is huge pent-up demand for travel now that boarders are reopening. And a Notre Dame-Navy fixture in Dublin provides US football fans with the perfect excuse to travel to Ireland. All of us in Aer Lingus are looking forward to welcoming families, friends, businesses, colleagues – and sports fans – on board.”

Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland said: “I am delighted to hear this news that Notre Dame and Navy will return to Dublin in August 2023 for the second game of the five-game Aer Lingus College Football Series. It is a huge honour for Dublin to host the opening game of the 2023 College Football Season and to give Irish fans the opportunity to witness the sporting talents and colour of American College Football. I welcome back the 40,000 Notre Dame and Navy fans to Dublin and Ireland and look forward to joining with them in following their teams as they get look to get their 2023 season off to a flying start.”

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, TD: “I am pleased to welcome the news that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic will take place in Dublin in 2023. This is the second fixture in a planned five-game series and on behalf of Government, I was delighted to be in a position to provide the public funding needed to secure the event. Large scale events such as this are an important part of driving tourism demand because they provide international and domestic visitors with a compelling reason to choose Dublin. Having also visited the US recently as Minister to deliver the message that Ireland is open again, I know the excitement among fans about being able to visit our shores.”

Padraic O’Kane from Irish American Events Ltd. commented: “After cancelling the 2020 fixture in June of last year due to Covid, all our stakeholders were determent to re-schedule the marquee fixture for the earliest possible window. Now, thanks to Notre Dame giving up a home game to Dublin, the game is a reality with the Fighting Irish taking on the Naval Academy for the third time on Irish Soil in 2023, 1996 and 2012 previously. This game, along with the 2022 Northwestern vs Nebraska game, will deliver a badly needed boost to our hospitality, tourism and aviation industries with the majority of the US travelers spending a minimum of seven nights throughout the island of Ireland.”

Paul Keeley, Director of Regional Development, Fáilte Ireland said: “This announcement will provide a welcome boost for the tourism and hospitality sector especially in Dublin which has been hit hard by the pandemic. We will be thrilled to welcome the teams and their supporters to our capital city when they visit in 2023. These games are of critical importance to our economy, not just in Dublin but regionally too as fans will travel and visit other parts of Ireland. The millions of fans watching the game in the US will also provide Ireland with a valuable opportunity to showcase our ability to host large-scale international sporting tournaments while also reaching out to viewers – and potential visitors
– in one of our key markets.”

Jack Swarbrick, Director of Athletics, Notre Dame: “We’re thrilled to be able to provide another opportunity for our team and fans to experience the culture and hospitality of Ireland,” said Swarbrick. “This trip overseas continues to strengthen our academic and athletic presence around the globe. Bringing a Notre Dame Football home game
atmosphere to Ireland has been a goal of ours and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Naval Academy to
make it happen.”

Chet Gladchuck, Director of Athletics, Navy commented: "We are very pleased to be returning to Aviva Stadium in Dublin for the 96th playing of the Navy-Notre Dame game," said Chet Gladchuk, Director of Athletics at the U.S. Naval Academy. "In 2012, it was one of the greatest airlifts in all of sports with more than 35,000 people coming from the United States to witness the beauty of Ireland and the pageantry that is a Navy-Notre Dame football weekend. We expect just as many people to return in 2023. The Navy fan-based support and enthusiasm for this game in Ireland is already overwhelming and with the ongoing support of the Prime Minister and the Irish government, it will again be an extraordinary experience. We look forward to our visit and a competitive contest against Notre Dame in a country that knows no bounds for hospitality."

Shane Clarke, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Corporate Services, said: "Today’s announcement that Notre Dame and Navy will play in the second game of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, in August 2023, is really good news. With about 40,000 people expected to travel here for the game, it will deliver a very welcome boost for tourism from the United States. Tourism Ireland will work closely with Anthony Travel, the official travel company for both colleges, and other travel partners, to maximise the tourism benefits of the game. Sports-related tourism has emerged as a very significant element of the global travel business and the Notre Dame v Navy game will be another wonderful opportunity to showcase Dublin and Ireland, and more generally the many attractions that the island of Ireland offers as a holiday destination. Our message to both teams and their fans is that we cannot wait to roll out the ‘green carpet’ and welcome them to Dublin and Ireland.”

Ticketing / Hospitality & Travel Packages
Travel and Hospitality packages will go on sale for the 2023 game on Tuesday 23rd November 2021 through the official corporate hospitality game partner Corporate.ie and the official travel partner On Location in partnership with Abbey Group Ireland. Corporate group ticketing opportunities will also be launched before the end of the year. General ticketing information to be released in due course, with a pre-sale sign-up option available on the official game website. Travel and Hospitality packages for the 2022 game are currently on sale. Information on all packages can be found on CollegeFootballIreland.com.

The Aer Lingus College Football Series will be bringing the usual college football fanfare with it, so attendees can expect lots of fun events including marching bands, cheerleaders and tailgating parties. For exclusive information see CollegeFootballIreland.com and follow College Football Ireland on Twitter @CFBIreland, Facebook
@CollegeFootballIreland and Instagram @CFBIreland with the official game hashtag: #MuchMoreThanAGame

-ENDS-

For further details, please contact:
Legacy Communications
Kevin Moore | kevin@legacycommunications.ie | 0868252611

NOTES TO EDITOR:

Who is organising the game?
The game is being promoted and organised by Irish American Events Ltd which is a joint venture between Corporate.ie (Hospitality & Events Specialists) (Irish Partner) and On Location (US Partner). The Series principal stakeholders are Aer Lingus, Failte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Dublin City Council.

Who are Irish American Events Ltd?
Corporate.ie is a leading Irish events and hospitality company established in 2002 specialising in restaurant (FIRE Steakhouse & Bar and SOLE Seafood & Grill), venue (The Round Room at the Mansion House) and bespoke event management and promotion. The company played a pivotal role to the Emerald Isle Classic in 2012, the Croke Park Classic in 2014 and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in 2016 and has an excellent understanding of the various traditions and culture associated with American College Football. In 2015, in partnership with Anthony Travel, Corporate.ie established Irish American Events Limited which successfully promoted and operated the 2016 Aer Lingus College Football Classic between Boston College and Georgia Tech. The joint venture partnership has delivered the correct commercial environment from both the public and private sectors in Ireland to create the opportunity to attract future profile College Football fixtures.

On Location is a leader in premium experiential hospitality business, establishing a new industry standard to serve iconic rights holders with extensive experience in ticketing, curated hospitality, live event production and travel management in the worlds of sports and entertainment. On Location is a partner to over 150 rights holders including the NFL, NCAA, the PGA of America and the United States Tennis Association and provides unrivaled official access for both corporate clients and fans looking for immersive experiences at marquee events including the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, NFL Draft, NCAA Final Four, PGA of America events, numerous College Football Bowl Games and the Tennis Majors. Anthony Travel (now a part of On Location) played a significant role in the formation and execution of all of the successful Ireland college football games of recent history, including the 2012 Emerald Isle Classic, 2014 Croke Park Classic and 2016 Aer Lingus College Football Classic. For more information about On Location, please visit onlocationexp.com.

About Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland, founded in 1936. It operates over 100 routes, flying 16 routes to North America direct from Ireland. Via its home at Dublin Airport which offers US Immigration Preclearance, Aer Lingus provides seamless connections to North America and beyond for both UK and European traveller. It is Ireland’s only 4-Star airline, awarded by Skytrax, the international air transport rating organisation. The airline’s mission is to become the leading value carrier operating across the North Atlantic enabled by a profitable and sustainable short-haul network and supported by a guest-focused brand and a digitally enabled value proposition. Aer Lingus is a member of International Airlines Group (IAG), one of the world's largest airline groups. For more info, visit www.aerlingus.com.

About Notre Dame University
The University of Notre Dame sponsors 26 varsity athletics programs (13 men’s, 13 women’s), dating back to 1887 when the Irish played their first football game. Notre Dame won its 32nd national championships in 2021 when the Irish claimed the NCAA Fencing Championship following previous titles in football (11 consensus), fencing (three men, one women, six combined), women’s soccer (three), women’s basketball (two), men’s tennis (two), plus one each in men’s soccer, men’s golf and men’s cross country. Notre Dame student-athletes in 2020 recorded the highest NCAA Graduation Success Rate figure (98) among all Football Bowl Subdivision institutions. In the 2021 Olympic Games, the Irish sent an ACC-leading 21 current or former student-athletes to Tokyo (most in school history). Notre Dame football remains independent in terms of conference affiliation, but most other Irish sports began competing in the ACC in 2013-14. For more information on Notre Dame Athletics, visit und.com.

About Navy
The Naval Academy's football program is one of the US's oldest, with its history dating back to 1879. Navy has 19 players and three coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame. The Navy-Army Game, played annually on the last weekend of the college football regular season in early December, pits the football teams of the US Military Academy (Army) against the Navy Midshipmen. It is one of the most traditional and enduring rivalries in college football. Navy has played Notre Dame in 87 annual games without interruption since 1927 with a record of 13–76–1. One of the great appeals of this game to many fans is that its players are largely playing for the love of the game, since almost none will ever play in the NFL.