Heading to Dartmouth High’s home football opener on September 13? There is some important scheduling and parking information you need to know.

The game has been moved from its original evening start time to 4 p.m. According to town officials, this is a result of the threat of Eastern equine encephalitis. 

The game is still scheduled to be held at Memorial Stadium, and will be the team’s first game on the new turf field which has been under construction since May. 

Since the game is so early, parking will be trickier than usual. Town Hall will still be open for business, meaning Town Hall parking will be limited. 

Instead, town officials are reminding residents in a press release that Dartmouth Middle School has ample parking available in both the front lot on Slocum Road, and the back lot on Hawthorn Street.

Many of the side streets in the immediate area of the stadium have parking restrictions during stadium events.

A planned back-to-school bash, which would have included a celebration of the new stadium opening, has been postponed to later in the year. According to School Business Administrator Jim Kiely, the event was set to include a re-dedication of Memorial Stadium, as well as a ribbon cutting. 

The School Department is working with town veterans groups to plan a ceremony for later in the evening, as Kiely noted the difficulty people might have attending a mid-afternoon event on a weekday. A date has not yet been set. 

EEE concerns are also forcing the rescheduling of upcoming football games. After the home opener, the football team's next game will be on Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m. at Attleboro. The team's next game after that won't be until October 4 at 7 p.m. against Durfee. 

The Indians opened the regular season on September 6 with a game against Falmouth High School. Dartmouth High lost that game 35-14.