2019 Road Games Football Ticket Questions
For my benefit and that of anyone else who enjoys an occasional Michigan Football road trip, I am wondering about the so-called "Michigan sections" in all opposing B1G stadiums, especially for this season's away games @ Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn St, Maryland, and IU.
I'm definitely going to Memorial Stadium this October (it's the only "original 10" B1G venue I haven't yet visited), but may add another road game or two to my plans as the season progresses.
While I have in the past mostly purchased tickets on the secondary market without regards to where the majority of Michigan fans are seated (based on U of M's ticket office allotment from the enemy athletic departments), and then moved whenever possible at halftime to the predominantly blue sections, I'd prefer to try to be seated all day among the Maize-and-Blue faithful.
In the case of this season's Illinois game, there are still a lot of tickets available directly through the Illini ticket office, priced at $65 and up depending upon seat location + a small processing fee, while StubHub has tickets listed at $45ea./pair and up right now (plus their approximately 25% fees mark-up). Being that we are the "hated rival" to the Illini faithful, I would strongly prefer to sit among known friends and trusted agents rather than the haters.
:-)
For the other 4 road games this fall, here's the current ticket availability and pricing as of today:
-Wisconsin: sold out; StubHub starting at $146 ea./pair
-Penn St: sold out; StubHub starting @ $199 ea./pair
Maryland: lots of tickets available $58-78; StubHub starting @ $41 ea./pair
Indiana: lots of seats available $50-95 (youth $10-15 and students $15); StubHub starting @ $68 ea./ pair
Annnnd... besides my ticket questions, seeking advice on the best places to tailgate/park and bars/restaurants in opposing territory this fall.
Anyone else road-tripping this coming season?
PS: feel free to add your own additional road game questions...
I went to Wisky a couple years ago and there was PLENTY of tickets available way under that price. I think I paid $70. However, the game was not in Sept and it was chilly and wet.
August 8th, 2019 at 11:42 PM ^
Yeah, I was there too. It started at 11:00 local time so that cut into festivities. And it was sleeting that day. Fortunately we were under the overhang.
I didn't look for tickets because I had them.
I remember our hockey team was there also. There were several fans of both teams trying to give away hockey tickets for that night's game.
I've done games at PSU, MD, and Illinois. For Penn St I used a PSU student ticket so I can't give too much help there but the field by the stadium was the best place to tailgate for sure.
Illinois I went for an OSU-Illinois game so no Michigan specific knowledge. We just got cheap (but good seats) in a random section and most of the fans around us were OSU fans so I assume it'd be similar for a Michigan game.
Maryland I also used a student ticket but the stadium was empty to begin with and all the Maryland fans left by halftime. Really easy to move around wherever, move to any section and be surrounded by Michigan fans.
Living in Kansas, the closest Michigan will be playing to us is Illinois-about an 8 hour drive. Am considering taking my grandson-a rabid 10 year old fan-it would be his first. I cannot imagine there are not plenty of tickets available around the stadium on game day. Would be glad to hear from anyone familiar with the Illinois scene.
Said it above but I went to an OSU Illinois game at Illinois. Bought tickets the day before on StubHub about 15 rows back near the 20 and it was pretty cheap. I'd be shocked if you struggled to find tickets.
Headed to Camp Randall for my first time. Bought tickets from the Wisconsin site before the sellout. Just want the experience and don't feel the need to among other Michigan fans. Had a great time last year before the game with a bunch of Badger fans. Hoping to find some for Penn St also as it is the last B1G stadium I really want to see.
It’s always a great time in Madison...especially if you like beer and fattening foods! Hit me up [email protected] if you need any advice on things as I live not too far away and have spent plenty of time there. Ive got a hotel for the weekend, but haven’t decided if Im gonna go to the game yet. My season ticket holding Vadger (intentional misspell) friends are not being friendly to me with prices this year and the secondary market sucks so far.
From experience in 2017. I will never go to a game at IU again.
Why was it so bad? Interested because I’m planning on making the trip down there from the Detroit area.
We couldn't park close to the stadium even though my dad is disabled. Per their website you can purchase those passes at a certain gate and then request a golf cart to drive you up to the stadium. They told us they were all sold out which i found hard to believe with the amount of parking that was still open around the stadium when we walked in. If you remember that game also took forever even without the overtime. It was a pretty warm day for being October (85 & sunny). The concessions had completely ran out of water before halftime.
Takeaway: I thought the parking ordeal was shitty and how do you run out of water at a B1G football game? Are those the worst things ever? Nope, but it definitely took away from my experience there.
Why couldn't you just drop your dad off close and then go park ? Sometimes when I go with people who don't like to walk to the home games, I drop them off on State St., then go park a mile or so away East of Packard. After I park I run back to State. Works well.
I always drop my dad off by the basketball arena as he has a hard time walking and I usually park a good 30 minute walk from the stadium. I’ve never heard anyone having trouble parking close to the stadium and I went to the game in 2017. You can always drop off right by the basketball arena and find someone with a golf cart. There are always people out with golf carts during games at IU. I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I’m not loyal to IU by any means and football doesn’t mean a lot here, but usually opposing fans leave feeling like they’ve had a good experience.
I've been to both Memorial Stadiums (Illinois & Indiana) but it's been a while. Both stadiums are oriented in a north-south direction (in other words, there's a north end zone and a south end zone). Both home teams occupy the west sideline. The visitor's section, in both stadiums, is in the northeast corner.
At Illinois, UM fans can be found in both the upper and lower decks. At Indiana, it seems that all of the UM fans will be way up high, in the corner (there is no upper/lower configuration).
The last time I was at Indiana, we sat on the home team side, 40 yard line about 2/3 of the way up. Great view, friendly fans. Fun day.
Last time I was at Illinois, some shithead Illinois student screamed obscenities directly in my mother's face. As you can imagine, she was a little shaken by that. This occurred just outside the west facade of the stadium, about the 50 yard line.
If both teams are having a season as expected, you should be able to find plenty of available tickets just before the game.
@outsidethebox: I would be very surprised if you couldn't find something in the upper deck @ Illinois on game day. You can easily park w/i sight of the stadium, too (well, you could, not sure if that's still true or not).
Thanks, Bronco648.
The experience you described at Illinois is exactly what I want to avoid, since one of my group is going to be my young granddaughter. She's been to one road game with us before, at Purdue a couple years ago, but the Boiler fans are by-and-large much more mellow and civilized than what I've heard about fans at Illinois (and Columbus and East Lansing).
Purdue fans are so friendly that a group of them seated directly in front of us bought me a couple beers and my daughter and granddaughter waters on that blazing hot day in West Lafayette. Illini fans? I'd much more expect beer to be dumped on me there.
If someone screamed obscenities in my mom's face he would have less teeth in his mouth than he did before the screaming.
You would seriously cause bodily harm to a stranger for being verbally aggressive ? You sound lovely.
He would have fewer teeth.
August 8th, 2019 at 10:04 PM ^
Leave him alone. He probably will need both of the teeth that he has.
I too have bought tickets on the street for most of the road games I've attended; while it's been MUCH cheaper that way at Purdue, IU, and Minnesota (and used to be dirt cheap also at Northwestern), I've been forced to pay premium prices at Columbus and Iowa City.
Northwestern tickets are no longer easy to find at or below face in Evanston, probably due to a combination of loads of Michigan grads in Chicagoland AND the relative success of their program over recent years.
I know Illini tickets should be cheap from scalpers, but since we probably need 4 together I'm going to purchase from the Illini ticket office for that one rather than spending the time and aggravation searching on game day outside Memorial Stadium. That's why I prefer to know what sections some of you may have gotten by going through the U of M ticket office.
Have been to Camp Randall for MI games many times (I currently live about 120 miles from Madison). This year was different than most as there were some tickets for the MI game available to the public, but they also put a huge premium on them. That's probably why they didn't sell out to the donors and alumni. The secondary market is pretty poor if you ask me, but if you've never been there, Madison is fun. I usually see pockets of MI fans throughout with no designated area. I usually stay in a hotel and walk/uber to Camp Randall and just take in many of the bars on Regent St. for pre-gaming, unless I come across a group of fellow Wolverines that are hanging out somewhere.
Been @Illinois, @Indiana numerous times and both seem to have their fair share of Wolverine fans (no matter where you are sitting). @Northwestern & @ Minnesota are the same as well. I will be going to Illinois this year as well and I've always had luck sitting on the visitor sideline section 103-107. Grange Grove (Corner of 1st & Kirby) has public tailgating (without vehicles), food trucks, beer garden...etc. Will be my first time in Grange Grove, but Northwestern just started a similar thing and I had a good time with many other Wolverines last year.
Have not been @PSU, or @ Maryland yet.
Indiana
Michigan sections from our ticket office will be 101&102 and maybe the upper parts of sections 1&2
best place to park - Grass Lots, just south of the stadium. You need to buy passes in advance from the IU ticket office. I think they were $30 or $40. There will also be scalpers selling parking passes on the road on the way in. It is kind of like being on the golf course without the golf course
IU fans are extremely friendly at the tailgates and in the game. This is Indiana, not Ohio!
IU will be selling beer and wine in the stadium
if you buy tickets from the IU ticket office, they have a “Starter Kit” for $140 - includes 2 tickets, a grass field parking pass and 2 food and soda vouchers
the town of Bloomington reminds me a bit of Ann Arbor about 30 years ago (and I mean that in a good way). It lacks the # of quality restaurants that we have in A2. Some recommendations - Uptown Cafe, the Farm, Big Woods, Malibu Grill, Mother Bear’s Pizza
Bars-
Upland Brewery - if you like sour beers go to their Wood Shop brewery next door
the Tap - multi tap and brewery
kilroy’s and Nick’s English Hut - college bars
Uptown - wine and cocktails
bluebird - music
Big Woods- full service, beer garden
scotty’s brewhouse - great pub (not a brewery) to watch other games
Looks like some great info, Budg Man. This the most likely additional road game I'm considering attending this season besides Illinois.
I've been to Bloomington for the IU game twice in past seasons; likely the only thing keeping me from making definite plans is the potential for bad late-November driving weather. For what it's worth, southern Indiana weather in late November generally is still pretty mild, from what I've seen and been told. It's the northern leg of that trip that more likely makes up my mind on that lengthy drive.
Indy to Bloomington in November is not bad at all. I’ve traveled to Ann Arbor from Bloomington a lot in November and December, and from what I recall most of the time in November has been fine. There’s been a few years that it wasn’t great when you get more north, but nothing really bad that I remember.
I go to @Maryland every time they're there as its relatively local for me. Visitors sections are 2, 202, and 302. They are between the goalline and the ten on the open endzone side of the stadium. They are near the cannon that they fire with every score.
For the face value you would pay via Michigan's ticket office, you can get significantly better tickets the week of off Stubhub. I have sat between the 40s on the lowest level for $60 before. Caution that the very lowest 8 rows or so are obstructed view as the field is not sunken.
Parking is free (or such a small cost I forgot I paid) and ample in parking decks a few blocks from the stadium. A very weak tailgating scene in College Park. You will not be harassed by Terps fans -- very polite and non-aggressive. Stadium sells beer and wine.
I've been to IU a few times and in the past they have given my kids free tickets with the purchase of 2 adult tickets. Purchased through the IU ticket office.
I bought tickets this year for the Illini game. I just chose tickets on the Michigan side of the field and I am hoping for the best. Last year was my first road game at Spartan Stadium and it worked out for me last year.
I once got my entire family into an Indiana game in Bloomington in 2006 for $12. There were 7 of us. All the children were given free tickets by Indiana fans coming into the stadium. There was plenty of room to spread out. We actually had almost an entire section to ourselves. The stadium has more room per seat than you could ever hope for. There are beautiful views from the top of the bowl in the fall when the leaves are turning. Bloomington is a beautiful town. It reminds me of Ann Arbor as was mentioned above. The fans coming and going are as friendly as can be.
Not so much at Illinois. I have been to almost all of the Big 10 stadiums (not OSU and a couple others) but I have never seen anything like Illinois. I could not believe how much their fan base HATES Michigan. It was ugly to say the least. On one trip I did get a chance to talk to Red Grange's wife however. She was a charming lady.
I'm planning on the Illinois game as well... Should be a good time
We typically go to Bloomington or West Lafayette when UM plays at either. We may go to the IU game this year but we’re definitely going to Illinois. We haven’t been there for a football game but had a great experience this past January for basketball. We drive from Indy to Peoria quite often and stop in Champaign a lot. It’s not a great college town but I highly recommend the Blind Pig for beers. They brew quality beer and the atmosphere is great. It’s not a restaurant - just a good place to hang out and drink beer. Radio Maria is a good restaurant just a block or two from Blind Pig.
August 9th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
I'll be at Penn St. and Maryland this year. First time on the road for me, so I will gladly take any advice as well.
Go Blue!
August 10th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
Thanks to all who replied, especially those who helped me with good info regarding seating for away games.
Much appreciated!
August 11th, 2019 at 7:35 AM ^
buy3
August 11th, 2019 at 7:35 AM ^
or 4 from stubhub
August 11th, 2019 at 7:36 AM ^
or through you UM.
August 11th, 2019 at 7:36 AM ^
they aint cheap
August 11th, 2019 at 5:22 PM ^
Illinois is a easy crowd to deal with in my past experiences. I have sat in the Michigan section and with Illinois fans and it wasn't bad. Northwestern, Iowa, Purdue, Minnesota, Rutgers Wisconsin and though I haven't been back to Happy Valley since 2006 even they were decent. Indiana fans are great I go there everyother year can't say the same about Sharty or OSU and haven't done Maryland or Nebraska yet