As Saturday kickoff looms, Fresno State scrambles to fix water-damaged Bulldog Stadium

Fresno State had not completed repairs at Bulldog Stadium by 5 p.m. Friday, so when Nevada showed up for its walk-through the day before the Mountain West football opener there still was heavy machinery on the field.

The Wolf Pack shared the artificial turf with four work vehicles, including two bulldozers, one of which was parked at the 10-yard line between the hash mark and the numbers.

There were piles of sand in the south end zone, which work crews have been trying to clear, clean and repair since Sunday when a broken irrigation line sent a river of mud flowing down the ramp and onto the field.

Nevada coach Jay Norvell declined to comment through an athletic department representative.

When the irrigation line broke Sunday morning, mud made it as far as the 10-yard line on the field and to about the 40 behind the visitor’s bench.

The stadium was to be in working order by Saturday, said Paul Ladwig, senior associate athletic director for external relations.

“We’ve been working on the field for the past two days and have and will do everything to have it in excellent condition and ready to go for the game,” Ladwig said.

“We feel very confident that having the Field Turf guys here and their expertise, we’ll be ready to go by (Saturday).”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Fresno State is expecting about 27,000 for the game against the Wolf Pack, which is 0-4 including a loss to Idaho State, a championship subdivision team.

Entrance gates at the south end of the stadium and the ramp that goes up the east side of the stadium will be open.

Section 38, where the irrigation line broke, will be closed. Fresno State covered that section with a red tarp emblazoned with a big Bulldogs logo.

The Bulldogs’ marching band, which usually sits in Section 38 for games, will be moved one section to the right into one of three sections reserved for Fresno State students.

This story was originally published September 29, 2017 at 7:41 PM with the headline "As Saturday kickoff looms, Fresno State scrambles to fix water-damaged Bulldog Stadium."