Notre Dame Football: Possible Shamrock Series Destinations

This weekend, Notre Dame and Boston College will play in perhaps the most interesting Shamrock Series venue to date. Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly hinted at a possible Lambeau Field tilt in the near future during Tuesday’s weekly press conference. Saturday’s contest and Kelly’s suggestion got the wheels turning on some of future destination.

Thus far, Notre Dame has traveled to San Antonio (Alamodome), New York City (Yankee Stadium), Washington D.C. (FedEx Field), Chicago (Solider Field), Dallas (AT&T Stadium), Indianapolis (Lucas Oil) and Boston (Fenway Park). Next year’s game will be played against Army in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamodome.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Saturday marks the second time that Notre Dame will play in a baseball stadium (Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park). A few major ballparks remain as viable options for a Shamrock Series game. First (and most obvious) is Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.

Wrigley Field has hosted numerous football games over the years including the Chicago Bears from 1921 to 1970. More recently, Illinois and Northwestern played there.

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Wrigley Field makes sense for a lot of reasons. First, it’s proximity to South Bend make the move very easy for Notre Dame. Chicago is a big “ND” town. Second, the Chicagoland area has some of the better recruits in the Midwest. Playing in Chicago gives the Irish coaching staff an opportunity to demonstrate what the Irish are all about to these recruits. Finally, Wrigley Field is an iconic venue. Not only is the Shamrock Series about recruiting, it is also about the fans. Playing at an old iconic venue fits with the Irish program.

Other possible ballparks include Chase Field (which has hosted numerous bowl games including the Cactus Bowl), AT&T Park (Foster Farms Bowl), St. Pete Bowl (Tropicana Field) and Miami Beach Bowl (Marlins Park).

NFL Stadiums

As Brian Kelly suggested Lambeau Field would be a great destination. The history matches up well. Curly Lambeau, the man for which the field is named, played under Knute Rockne at Notre Dame.

Other possible NFL Stadiums include the Georgia Dome, Superdome, NRG Stadium, University of Phoenix Stadium and Levi’s Stadium. All four venues could be great for recruiting.

International

Although this would completely eliminate the recruiting factor from the Shamrock Series, another international contest would be interesting. Contests in London at Wembley Stadium or Rome at the Stadio Olimpico. Wembley Stadium has hosted several NFL games including 3 games this year.

Picking the Right Opponent

One of the strange things about this weekend’s game is that the Irish are the home team in Boston against Boston College. Notre Dame loses a home game to do the Shamrock Series game. It does not make sense to play the hometown team. Thus, Jack Swarbrick needs to get opponents that also have to travel to the location.

Hypothetical Games

2017: Wrigley Field vs. Wake Forest
2018: Mercedes-Benz Superdome vs.
2019: Stadio Olimpico (Rome) vs. Boston College
2020: University of Pheonix Stadium vs. Stanford
2021: Marlins Park vs. Georgia Tech
2022: Wembley Stadium vs. Navy

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