If heavy rains persist in Ames through Saturday, problems could be presented for fan vehicles parked in grass parking lots for Saturday’s Iowa State versus Iowa football game.

“We’ve talked about it several times over the last few days,” said Capt. Doug Houghton, program manager for the Department of Public Safety Parking Division.

Houghton said he didn’t anticipate any problems with muddy ground if precipitation stops before Saturday.

“The ground recovers pretty quickly,” he said. “We’ve had years of parking cars on that ground … it’s pretty hard.”

Houghton said decisions about adjusting the parking plan would be made Saturday morning. Kickoff is at 11:40 a.m., so the parking lots will open before 6 a.m.

Lots could be closed before they fill up, or buses and recreational vehicles could be moved to different locations, Houghton said. However, specific contingencies, if any, won’t be decided before Saturday.

Houghton said he could only remember one game where he’d faced a similar challenge, a Nov. 7, 1998, game against Nebraska when snow and sleet softened the grass lots.

“As it turns out, we had no problem getting [vehicles out afterward],” he said.

As of Thursday evening, .39 inches of rain had fallen in Ames. Ames was expected to receive a few more hundredths of an inch of rain.

The last time the Hawkeyes came to Ames, on Nov. 24, 2001, Jack Trice Stadium attendance was 51,042. Saturday’s game has been sold out for weeks.

— Lucas Grundmeier