Chicago-land: UM @ NW - Sept. 29
Single game tickets go on-sale for NW football games on Thursday, June 14, at 9 AM CDT. I know there are a lot of alums/fans in the Chicago-land area. It's always nice to have as many, if not more, fans in that stadium. If you've never been, Evanston is really nice and the pre-game atmosphere is great. Parking can be a little difficult so give yourself extra time and park remotely. Shuttle buses run constantly but you can also walk. Hope to see you there!
Thanks for the heads up! I'll be there
Thanks for the heads' up. I'll be making the trip as a first timer. Anyone have thoughts on getting tix thru the university? or to use a stubhub/reseller?
Depends on what you want your game day experience to be.
1. If you want to sit with other Michigan fans buy the tickets through the university. You'll pay face value and your seats wont be very good but you'll be surrounded by likeminded Wolverines for the afternoon.
2. If you want the best view of the game at the lowest cost buy your tickets through the secondary market. Generally speaking Northwestern struggles to sell tickets so they are usually plenty available. If you've got the stomach for it wait until the last minute to buy - ticket resellers start crashing prices about 2 hours before kickoff right up until gametime. If you want the certainty of knowing you have a seat buy through Stubhub or another secondary ticket broker the week of the game.
Good luck and have fun!
Well, not really.
1. Michigan tends to buy out the single-game tickets for NU games across the board, as do the other B1G schools, and there won't be as many tickets floating around as you might think. They've sold out the prime sideline seats for season tickets and probably did quite well in the rest of the stadium for once (see below), but the rest of the stadium is pretty much fair game. You're going to feel more or less at home anywhere in the building.
2. NU tickets for the secondary market do drop to around $3-5 for low-interest games if you want to see them play Rutgers or something, but they stick around pretty close to face, if not higher for OSU/PSU/Michigan. Half thought about trying to get a cheap ticket for one of the bigger games last year, but they never dropped.
Basically, the whole situation has changed a lot in the last five years or so. The old rules don't really apply now that there's some buzz around the program. They're going all-out on hyping this season as "THE BEST HOME SCHEDULE IN AMERICA!!11!" because they've got a rock-solid Big Ten home schedule, plus ND, which explains the run on season tickets this year.
In other words, if you want to be in the building for face, single-game tickets are the fail-safe strategy this year.
thank you Bando & MGO!
this is correct. tickets aren't as easy to come by as they used to be for UM-NW. i've lived in Chi for 20 years. in fact, i was shut out in 2010(?). there were literally no scalpers at the stadium and stubhub prices were very high.
UM seats suck; corner of the upper deck. I would recommend buying through NW or pay a few extra bucks and get them on stubhub.
That home schedule is the reason I bought season tickets this year. Tickets were around $300 per seat and should be easy to get all of that back on the ND and Wisc games alone.
Thought about that. It's a smart move. But didn't feel like going through the PITA of selling them.
Best move is to park in the main campus lots and then walk to sheridan road where the shuttles are constantly running.
We had good luck parking on a neighborhood street north of the stadium. If you're willing to walk 20+ minutes, easy in/easy out parking can be found on nearby neighborhood streets.
Or maybe Evanston neighborhood parking regulations have changed recently?
Best best move is to take the purple line up then bum beers and food from various tailgates.
MOON
I still have PTSD from attending that game, but I'll treat this game as a therapeutic opportunity.
If there was ever a game to test one's love of a sport, it was that game.
I recall that it mercifully ended with a self-sack by Trevor Siemian, and I definitely remember being unable to decide if I should laugh or sob uncontrollably at the senseless slaughter of football.
When I lived in Chicago a few years ago I decided to buy a pair of NW season tickets as they had a very good home schedule that included Michigan, OSU, MSU among others. Think I sold my OSU tickets for a hundred more than I spent for the entire season. Not a bad idea depending on the rest of their schedule.
In addition to Michigan, NW home schedule includes Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois.
I bought two season tickets at $315/ticket plus a couple extra Michigan tickets. I expect that Notre Dame will sell for at least $200/ticket.
Do you get them directly from NWs website Thursday?
Season ticket holders had early access to buying additional single-game tickets (except ND) prior to selling to the public. I bought them via phone because I was unable to do so online.
Ryan Field is a glorified high school stadium, and anytime OSU or UM come to town (or any blueblood for that matter), the place is overrun with opposing fans. That being said, Evanston is a nice area.
I plan to be there for the game, and hope to see the place at least 75% UM fans. I was there for the 2011 game, and the stadium was crawling with Michigan fans.
Tailgating heads up.
For the last few UM/NW games, there’s been a big contingent of Michigan fans in the parking lot by Lake Michigan, a little past the NW swimming facility. Well, there is now a shiny new building on that parking lot, so that location is no longer an issue.
Edit to above: “issue” should be “option”
Been quite a few times. Its been a few years. Booked hotel in Evanston and planning on tailgating around the city establishments. Looking forward to a great Fall weekend near the lake.
Fuck yeah, thanks for the heads up. I had been checking on this for months. We're gonna have a crew of 8 making a fuckton of noise.
I bought group seats through Northwestern when they went on sale a couple months ago. I may have some extra tickets if anyone is interested. All M fans in my group!
I've been to 7 Michigan @ Northwestern games, including 4 of the last 6, but not going to be able to go this time----my niece scheduled a FALL WEDDING that day! ARRGGHHH!!!!
I guess I should just be happy it's not in conflict with a home game...
ONe thing to be aware of if you have never been - There are actually tailgating spots ( someon the golf course) that do not allow grilling. I find it to be one of the worst places to tailgate if you just come in from out of town blind. Make sure you can set up before you park somewhere
Got tickets today
Handicap tickets were a pain in the ass to get as one of the people in our group is in a wheelchair.
Wasn't exactly friendly dealing with NW ticket office in this regard.
I was thinking about doing the whole buy a season ticket package thing, but you can get ND tickets for 85 bucks on Stubhub, Wisconsin was going for about 20 and Nebraska for like 30.
Sideline tickets didn't really hold any value, in fact take a loss.