Planning to go to the season-opening football game this Saturday with a Zona Zoo pass? Be sure to get there early, because if you don’t, you might not have a seat when Arizona plays Brigham Young.

Michael Huston, the director of Zona Zoo, said that should the student section fill to its 10,000-fan capacity, students who arrive late will be turned away.

“”In years past, there’s been an opportunity for the overflow to go sit in other sections of the stadium,”” he said. “”But here that’s not a possibility, at least for BYU, because the stadium is completely sold out.

“”We are encouraging students to come early to avoid the possibility of students being turned away.””

As of yesterday, Huston said that more than 9,000 passes had been sold and he was expecting a release of more exact figures today.

“”As you know, not every single Zona Zoo pass holder is going to be at this game,”” Huston said. “”Some people who have passes aren’t going to go, be out of town or whatever. So we always have that consideration, and generally, we’ve done a pretty good job of handling (overflow) in the past.””

The Zona Zoo pass doesn’t guarantee admission to every football game, with a disclaimer on the card itself reading seating is “”first-come, first-served.”” On the Zona Zoo Sports Pass section of ArizonaAthletics.com under “”Football,”” it says, “”All admissions are not guaranteed. Limited to the first 10,000 students in attendance.””

In addition to a release on the aforementioned site, Zona Zoo also sent out a message on its Listserv warning students of the possibility of being turned away.

Huston said a system coordinating with events management will decide when the section is filled.

“”They have a really good understanding of when we are at capacity and when it’s time to shut down,”” Huston said.

Students wanting to ensure they get a seat are encouraged to come early.

“”I would say that it’s a possibility that some students who arrive well into the game won’t be able to attend,”” Huston said. “”If you come early, I’m not expecting any problems.””