COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio State University football’s spring game is Saturday and OSU police said they will be well-staffed to provide safety and security. 

Ohio State Police Chief Dennis Jeffrey said the department will treat the event much like a regular season game with a few changes. 

“We’re always looking at our plans and tweaking them,” Jeffrey said. 

Jeffrey said that when it comes to planning, the department factors in how things went at past events like the Stadium Series last month. Police plan to continue implementing the things that worked. 

“Really, it’s about how traffic flows, what’s the best and safest way to get people in and out of the stadium,” Jeffrey said. “So, we’re always looking at how we can work traffic differently and more effectively.” 

According to Jeffrey, in terms of parking, ADA parking looks a bit different for the spring game. It’s usually near the ROTC building, but on Saturday, it will be in the East Stadium lot. 

“We still have parking in the west side of campus, but there will be no shuttles,” Jeffrey said. “So, that’s something you have to think about — if you park there, you have a pretty long walk.” 

Coming off a national championship season, police are anticipating large crowds. 

“I’ve heard around 30,000-maybe tickets are out around now,” Jeffrey said. “The thing about the spring game is that a lot of people maybe decide the day of if they want to go, depending on weather, so it could really go up or down.” 

As far as what fans are allowed to bring, umbrellas are allowed but can’t be opened inside the stadium. Small bags are also permitted. Some things to avoid bringing include large bags or containers with liquid. There’s also a strict no drone policy. 

“You can’t fly a drone on campus,” Jeffrey said. “So, we really ask people not to do that and we do have the ability to find you sometimes and you could face charges so we ask you not to fly drones around the stadium at all.” 

Jeffrey said fans can expect to see plenty of uniformed officers during and after the spring game.

“We obviously have some folks that aren’t in uniform,” Jeffrey said. “We have individuals in observation areas and stuff like that. So, we do have a really good overall view of the area.” 

OSU police work closely with other law enforcement agencies to ensure things run smoothly. 

“We work with CPD,” Jeffrey said. “We help with lighting, cameras, so we know spring games sometimes there will be some parties off campus. So, you know, we obviously communicate with CPD and make sure everyone has a good time over there as well.” 

Jeffrey is urging fans to celebrate responsibly. 

“We have officers out and about around the stadium, so we want people to have a good time, but if things look like they might be getting out of control, we will interact with those individuals and you know, whatever we have to do it properly to deal with that situation,” he said. 

According to Jeffrey, scooters are also a concern. 

“Be really careful,” he said. “Obviously, we don’t want them driving if they have been consuming alcohol. So, there’s plenty of Uber and whatnot, utilize those. Scooters have become a problem for us. So, we ask if you’re taking a scooter, please be careful driving that scooter around all the people.”  

The Buckeyes’ spring game is scheduled to begin at noon on April 12. The Buckeye Gameday Fan Fest will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Remembrance Park on the corner of Woody Hayes and Archie Griffin Drive (Tuttle).