M. D.
Yelp
This review is specifically to help people who attend Spring Commencement here in the future.
First, I highly recommend ordering lei's and flowers from Moe's Flowers on Durant ahead of time so you don't get price gouged on your way into the stadium ($25-30 vs $40+). That said, if you forget or decide to buy more last minute, they are available and most vendors take credit cards. I also recommend making your restaurant reservations for lunch or dinner as far in advance as you can for a place within walking distance of campus because the traffic getting away from the area will be horrendous. Just be sure to give your group plenty of time to get there.
The morning of, definitely plan to get there by 8:00am when parking opens if at all possible. Pick up breakfast on your way into Berkeley, because Caffe Strada will be really packed. If you miss breakfast, they do sell food at the stadium. Also, bring snacks and water (water in the stadium is $5) and don't forget the sunscreen!
We were in the line of cars inching towards the stadium by 8:00am but by 8:30 we had moved a block and a half and the stadium lot was full, they were turning people away. We parked a couple blocks down Bancroft Way in a $10 lot between Bowditch and Barrow Ln opposite side of the street from campus. The entrance is a steep downward but nondescript driveway which probably explains why it still had plenty of spaces available. As long as you don't need the shuttle service that picks up from campus lots, this is a great option. The walk to the stadium is not too bad for the able-bodied, but anyone needing assistance should really get there extra early.
For this commencement, bags (purses, cameras, etc) were permitted, but were searched. Tickets need to be printed with a readable bar code so make sure you do that in plenty of time to account for running out of ink or other technical problems (I speak from experience folks). A line to get in forms fairly early, but once the stadium was open, crowds of people moved towards the entrance and the line was a moot point. Also, feel free to move to the far right and continue up the stairs to gate 5, there's no need to wait forever to get into the first gate.
Where to sit? Up to you, but if I could do it again, I would sit in the shade under the big screen on the South end of the field. For Spring 2018, the temperature was great, but there was no cloud cover at all and the sun was out in full force. It was so harsh that we got burnt even though we were covered in sunscreen. I definitely recommend that you wear hats and bring fans just in case (umbrellas will not be allowed). The other nice thing for people sitting on the ends of the stadium instead of the middle, their graduates were able to leave their seats and let their families take photos of them in the end zones while their fellow grads were still filing in. My graduate was on the opposite side from us so we couldn't get over there. If I had known better, I would have sat on that side and told my graduate to stay in the far right line to be seated in the far right section.
The four seating sections on the field correspond to the line they are in (far left line sits in the far left section, etc) but it's very easy for them to get into the line for the section they want to sit in. Lots of grads even jumped from one line to another, it wasn't really a big deal. You should also have your grad text you when they are about to enter the field so you know when to look for them. Also, tell them if they see a camera to mug for it. Some shots are shown on the big screens and those generally make it into the final commencement video. The line closest to the audience tended to get cut off in the video FYI, but if your grads linger after the ceremony a bit, they can find a camera that's still recording and wave to it, do a dance, whatever.
The ceremony will start right about 10. The first hour is mostly the graduates walking into the stadium from the North tunnel. Then all the speeches begin. The ceremony generally lasts about 3 hours but can be cut short due to weather, protesters, etc. For Spring 2018, it started pretty close to 10:00 and even with the ceremony being cut short by an hour (don't know why), we barely made it to our 3:00pm restaurant reservation in Alameda due mostly to extremely heavy traffic getting out of the area.
It can take quite a while to get out of the stadium and find your graduate, you will literally hit a wall of people. Our grad stayed on the field with friends to take more pictures then met us outside gate 5 once the staff forced them off the field. They are told to egress to the campanile, but you can make whatever meeting arrangements you want. People flooded campus and Southside immediately. Cars were at constant gridlock everywhere. If I knew this would be the case, I would have made a reservation within walking distance which is why I suggest that to you here.
Congratulations on making it! Go Bears!!