Green Bay Packers paying volunteers to shovel Lambeau Field before NFL playoff game
The team is asking for up to 700 volunteers to assist in snow removal efforts
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The Green Bay Packers are calling for fan volunteers to help dig Lambeau Field out of an expected snowstorm ahead of the team’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The team is asking for up to 700 volunteers to assist in snow removal efforts. The fans will be paid $12 per hour and were asked to arrive at 6 a.m. Central Time.
With the amount of snowfall difficult to predict, there is no timetable for how long the volunteers are expected to work. Since the playoff game is already sold out, the volunteer shovelers won’t receive perks such as game tickets or field passes, a Packers spokesman told FOX Business.
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Fans celebrate during the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 11, 2016, at Lambeau Field. (Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
If snow removal efforts required all 700 requested volunteers working for three hours, the Packers will dole out roughly $25,000 in wages. The current forecast for Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday night calls for “significant blowing and drifting snow” and a high temperature of 24 degrees, according to the Weather Channel.
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The National Weather Service forecast up to 10 inches of snow for the area.
The volunteers must be at least 18 years old, the Packers said. The team will provide shovels and other equipment.
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The Packers have regularly asked fans to assist with snow removal in the past.
The team has a history of using creative means to deal with Wisconsin’s notorious winters. Last month, the Packers offered about $50,000 in free hot beverages to fans to stave off freezing temperatures at Lambeau Field for the team’s Dec. 15 game against the Chicago Bears.
The volunteers are a discount compared to professional contractors. Shoveling can cost anywhere from $25 to $75 per hour, according to Home Advisor.