Question about future UM/OSU Tickets
It is a slow day on the blog so I thought I would ask this as it has been on my mind a lot. I also thought I had better get it done before the Furman announcement becuase I expect the blog to explode once that happens.
I have been a UM fan my entire football watching life (which has been about 20 years) and finally my brother and I are planning on making a visit to the Big House for the 2011 UM OSU game. I have a few questions that I would love some help with if people who have experience could spare the time to help (it is the season for giving after all :)
I need to know the following:
1) How far in advance do you need to purchase tickets?
2) How do you purchase tickets?
3) What sections are the best for both watching the game and experiencing the atmosphere?
4) What are the ticket price ranges?
5) Good spots to stay in AA?
I know this is a couple years away, but I have no idea how far in advance I need to plan this and I don't want to miss the boat.
We will be travelling over 2000 miles to get to the game so a lot of preparation is needed and I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered.
Thanks to all, and Merry Christmas.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:33 PM ^
1. You might be able to pick up tickets for the OSU game and then have to buy a shitty pair of tickets with it (think DSU) and then just give those tickets away. Doing this would be much easier and better than trying to scalp and would also be cheaper.
2. If you do the method in #1 then you would just purchase the tickets from mgoblue.com/tickets (i think /tickets). And do the single game option. If we are good by then I'm sure that they probably won't be able to buy the tickets through this option so you'll have to scalp it.
3. If you are not scalping tickets the best sections are whatever you can get through the ticket office for a fairly reasonable price. If you are scalping I would recommend staying away from the away sections (roughly the whole south endzone so sections 5-18 everything else should be fine and very Michigan-fan-oriented)
4. If you get it through the ticket office tickets should roughly be: about 400 for 2 tickets to each of the OSU and the other shitty obligatory "you have to buy this ticket to get OSU tickets" which will be MUCH cheaper than scalping tickets.
5. Depends on your price range. Campus Inn is extremely nice if you want to stay somewhere that is classy. If you want something cheap the Holiday Inn is always nice. Something mid-priced is Weber's (might be Webber's) on the West side. It depends on how close to down-town you want to be
In sum for the weekend excluding airfaire you're probably looking at about $1000 total for 2 tickets to the 2 different games (and if you can sell them for 1/2 of face that would be wonderful) along with food/lodging etc. If you have to scalp it depends on how you want to scalp. If you want to scalp at the beginning and just lock in your price you could do that. If you want to wait to see if The Game prices go down because one of our teams is shitty you could also do that as there was a Fire Sale this year as evidenced by all of the OSU fans at the Big House this year.
Roughly you should try to buy tickets in the summer of 2011 through the ticket office as your best bet.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:34 PM ^
I watched The Game in 2007 and got my ticket in the student section through craigslist for 200 bucks. The last two bad years probably make it easier to get tickets at a decent price. I'm planing on flying in (4310 miles away from the Big House) for the Iowa game so I'd also be very thankful for some ticket insight.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:46 PM ^
You will most likely be able to get them through the ticket office in the spring/summer. If not, there are always people selling tickets to Iowa and games like it for face value.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:37 PM ^
Next year the game switches to Thanksgiving weekend, so I'm not sure how that will affect the ticket situation. Single game tickets won't be available to the public, so your best bet is probably ebay or stubhub. Tickets for this year's game were around $200 apiece for most of the season, dropping a little bit right before the game because we sucked.
As for seating locations, closer is not better...I'd try to stay away from anything lower than row 10-20 because it's not a good viewing angle.
If you can snag a room at the Bell Tower hotel, go for it. That's one of the few hotels right on campus. If you're looking on the cheap, go for one of the hotels down state street near I-94.
December 21st, 2009 at 12:42 PM ^
1) You won't be able to buy single game tickets until spring 2011 at the earliest.
2) The best bet would be to try the ticket office, but because all the renovations will be complete in 2011, it is highly doubtful that single game tickets will be sold. If they are, they will probably be packaged with a game against Our Lady of Urban Renewal College.
So, your best options are probably going to be StubHub, Ebay or scalpers. There are always people selling tickets on gameday.
4) For OSU you are probably looking at a minimum of $200 for the pair in the endzone. (You may get them for less, but I would budget for $200.) And it will go up from there depending on seat quality. If the game is for the Big Ten Title or something like that the cost will double or triple.
3) Obviously the best seats are between the 30 yard lines, but for value, price and view, I think the best seats are in the corners to the 10 yard line or so. You can look up the sections at MGOBLUE.com. One thing to watch out for tough, the visitors section is typically parts of Sec 16. That said, even the endzones are good seats. Just try to sit in Row 20 of higher.
5)Your best bet is to probably stay out on State Street near Briarwood Mall. There are a bunch of hotels in that area and plenty of cabs to take you to campus bars and the like on Friday night. If you want to drop some cash, you can stay at the Campus Inn which is right nest to campus or the Bell Tower Inn. Not sure how far in advance you need to make reservations at those two, but I am sure a year ahead of time is not too soon.
Hope this helps!
December 21st, 2009 at 12:46 PM ^
Thanks to all who have responded thus far, great insight and I am grateful.
Second, not to sound like an ass, but the two of us are Dr.'s so Price isn't really a huge deal (though we obviously don't want to just throw money around like fools).
We are looking more at convenience than cost effective if that helps people in their advice.
Thanks again!
December 21st, 2009 at 12:53 PM ^
Mo money, mo problems
December 21st, 2009 at 12:58 PM ^
Then go for the Campus Inn - right on campus, easy walking distance to both the Big House and Main St, and it really is a nice hotel. Much more convenient than driving/taking a cab from one of the hotels further away.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:33 PM ^
I've always heard great things about Campus Inn but there are some other not as well known places to stay in AA that might be worth it:
Bell Tower Hotel
Inn at the Michigan League
Depends on what you want. If you want a smaller boutique hotel go with Bell Tower. If you want the nicest/most convenient to campus hotel in AA then I'd go with Campus Inn. The Inn at the Michigan League is a completely different animal than the others since it's a University sponsored Hotel (I'm assuming) since it is inside the Michigan League which is a very beautiful building.
My recommendation is:
Big Hotel: Campus Inn
Boutique Hotel: Bell Tower Hotel
As far as things to do/places to eat I'm pretty sure that you can find the previous threads but I always like to throw out these gems:
Krazy Jims Blimpy Burger
Gandy Dancer (seafood)
The Chop House (steak)
Gratzi (Italian)
Zingermans Deli (World renowned Jewish deli)
Maize and Blue Deli (NY style deli with real NYers)
Let me know if you'd like any other information.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:12 PM ^
I know you said money not a huge issue but heres a helpful way not to spend money unneccessarily. Hotels in the area jack up prices (surprise) for gameday weekends. If you you know the game far enough out in advance or just as the schedule is announced, you may be able to book before they have updated their prices.
We stay at Kensington Square just off the highway on state street and it is nice. Pool, hottub, clean, parking etc...I assume you'll have a rental car so my advice would be to hit up the golf course for some tailgating. Get there by 730 or so to avoid the lineups.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:15 PM ^
Even if they don't want to buy tickets, they will get the chance to buy some for that game (as part of the package with a non-glamour 1-AA game, for example) that the general public will not. It's your best shot.
The alumni association offers at least 1000 tickets to each game to its members and mails a form to every alum.
December 21st, 2009 at 2:31 PM ^
or just ones that had season tickets in the past or something?
My Uncle got his PHD. at UM back in the 70's, maybe he counts?
December 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 AM ^
I just wanted to thank all of you who took the time to respond. I appreciate all the info you have given me and it should help a lot.
Thanks again, and have a Merry Christmas!
December 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 PM ^
I waited till september to book my room. If you dont have very high expectations, its not a horrible place to stay.
Unfortunately there were a ton of OSU fans there that night..