Boston College and Notre Dame will share a sideline for their Shamrock Series game at Fenway Park this fall, according to remarks by Brian Kelly published on NDInsider.com. Since the game is also a Notre Dame home game, Boston College will dress using the visitors' locker room while Notre Dame will use the iconic Red Sox clubhouse.
The remarks were the first logistical facts made public about the first game played at the historic stadium since the end of the 1968 American Football League season.
We know form-fitting a football field into a baseball stadium can be a logistical nightmare, but fitting it into Fenway Park's notoriously cramped setting is going to be extremely interesting. Regardless of how the football field winds up, there is a limited amount of space on either side of the field. If the field were to go from first base out to left field, for example, the jutting left field wall down the foul line would be prohibitive in the final 20 yards, with the same issue plaguing a sideline down the right field line. While there's space for cameras, officials, and for players to run out of bounds, they likely would not have space for the coaches, equipment, and players.
As a result, the players will occupy the sideline closest to the middle of the field. This was the configuration for the Foster Farms Bowl held in San Francisco (formerly the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, San Francisco Bowl, etc.), where a barrier separated them at the 50 yard line. Center field added temporary bleachers for closer field action. For Patriot games at Fenway Park, temporary bleachers were placed in center.