JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech's Telvion Clark (right) participates in football practice Tuesday. The Hokies will play their season opener against Boise State on Sept. 6 at the Washington Redskins' FedEx Field in Landover, Md. All ticket revenue will go to the Redskins, but Virginia Tech will be paid $2.3 million for playing in the game and Boise State will get $1.2 million.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Teammates Steven Friday (left) and Mark Shuman play during a scrimmage earlier this month at Lane Stadium.

Greg Wade is the athletic director at Radford High School, but he won't be at his desk Sept. 7.

That's because on the night of Sept. 6, he will be in the stands at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., to watch the Virginia Tech football team take on Boise State.

Sept. 6 is Labor Day, but the Tech graduate will have to use a vacation day Sept. 7.

"It would be nice to see the Hokies get this one," he said. "Everybody's talking about the possibility of a national championship, but you've got to win the first one."

Wade is among many fans who are excited about the 10th-ranked Hokies' season opener against the third-ranked Broncos. It will be the second straight season that the Hokies open against a fellow national heavyweight in an NFL stadium; they lost to Alabama at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta last year.

"It's great because I don't like these patsy games at the beginning of the season," said Herndon resident Dennis McDonald, president of the Northern Virginia Hokie Club. "I like to kick off with something good and exciting."

Fewer than 7,500 tickets remain on sale for the 8 p.m. game, most of them upper-deck seats that cost $40 to $60. Tickets are for sale at Ticketmaster.com, not through the Virginia Tech ticket office.

The Washington Redskins, who are bankrolling the game, expect about 85,000 fans to attend. The Hokies are used to playing at 66,233-seat Lane Stadium.

FedEx Field seats more than 90,000 fans for Redskin games, but the NFL team isn't selling partial-view seats for this game, so the capacity on Sept. 6 will be about 88,000.

"We're very pleased with where we are [with sales], recognizing that school is in session [at Tech] that Monday and Tuesday," Redskins chief marketing officer Mitch Gershman said.

Some fans may be passing up the game, which will be televised by ESPN, because they can't take off from work Sept. 7. The game originally was scheduled for Oct. 2, but was moved to Labor Day night for television purposes.

Virginia Tech sold about 26,000 tickets to season-ticket holders and Hokie Club members from March through May 14, selling out its allotment. The Redskins wanted to take over ticket sales after May 14 so their fans could have a crack at them.

The Redskins have sold more than 30,000 tickets through their ticket office and Ticketmaster. Boise State sold about 7,300 tickets.

The Redskins also gave more than 10,000 tickets to their corporate sponsors and to fans who bought suite or club seats for Washington games. Getting tickets to a concert or a college game are part of their contracts.

All of the ticket revenue goes to the Redskins, not the schools. But Virginia Tech will be paid $2.3 million by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder's WFI Stadium Inc., for playing in the game, with Boise State reaping $1.2 million.

Ticket prices, which range from $40 to $150, include the cost of parking at the Redskins' lots.

The lots hold more than 20,000 cars. There is a Metro stop within walking distance of the stadium, Gershman said.

Wade said that he and his fiancee plan to drive up from Radford the day before the game, stay at a Washington, D.C., hotel and do some sightseeing with friends.

They plan to be at the stadium when the parking lots open at 4 p.m. so they can start tailgating. Wade said he wishes the lots were open even earlier so he could have more tailgating time, as he does at Hokie home games.

McDonald, an expert on Capital Beltway traffic from his years of living in Northern Virginia, advises fans to get to the stadium when the lots open.

"After the game, it'll be tough getting out of there, but I think it may be more of a problem getting to the game because it's Labor Day weekend and that section of the Beltway is always very difficult, let alone having a major athletic event," McDonald said. "The traffic and road construction around here is monumental."

The Pulaski County Hokie Club is among the club chapters that has organized a trip to the game. Fans will leave Sept. 5 on two charter buses, with members staying two nights at a Baltimore hotel. Members will do some sightseeing at the Inner Harbor and in Washington, D.C.

Those fans won't be heading home until Sept. 7, so another member of the Pulaski County Hokie Club, Al Smith, organized his own bus trip for fans who need to be at work or school Sept. 7. Their bus will head for home right after the game.

Smith and his wife have a son in eighth grade and a daughter in 10th grade.

"I don't want them to miss a day this early in the school year," he said.

Martin Travel is sending fans to the game on two charter buses -- one leaving from Roanoke and one from Blacksburg. Both 50-seat buses are sold out. The package includes a night at a Maryland hotel after the game.

The travel agency also sold out of a hotel-only package for fans who are driving themselves, with transportation provided from the hotel to the game and back. About 200 fans opted for that package.

This will be the first time that FedEx Field has hosted a college game since the Hokies opened the 2004 season with a loss to Southern California.

The Hokies will return to the stadium in 2012 for a game against Cincinnati.

"We look forward to having them up every other year if possible," Gershman said.