Big Ten Tournament- Where to Stay?

Submitted by Ellerbe is Yoda on
I am planning on making my first trip ever to the Big Ten Tournament this March. Since I have never been to a Big Ten Tournament, or to Indianapolis for that matter, I was wondering what advice people might have on where to stay. I spoke to a friend who lives in Indianapolis, and the suggestion was that staying downtown is best since you are near everything and in walking distance of Conseco. However, after some digging, the hotels downtown are way more expensive. My friend also suggested looking in Carmel which is about a 15-20 minute drive from downtown- has anyone does this? What would the parking situation be like? Any information that you have would be helpful.
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hailhail97

January 20th, 2010 at 9:13 AM ^

Did it 2 yrs ago. Walking distance to all the bars. Go to Have A Nice Day Cafe. Lots of Dance Teams pop in and out of there. Hung out with the MSU dance team, they were all pretty hot. I also met Sparty there he was a complete douche. Going again this year, hope to see more UofM support this time. I counted 3 other MICHIGAN fans (not counting parents of players) 2 yrs ago. GO BLUE.

Joined: 08/21/2009

MGoPoints: 665

Polisci

January 20th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^

I live in Indy also and would recommend downtown if it is at all possible. If you are going all the way out to Carmel you could pretty much stay anywhere. You might as well save money and stay at a hotel near the airport, in which case you would have easier freeway access from your hotel to the part of town you want to be. On another note, does anybody know when UM might start (or have they already?) selling tickets for the tourney? I'd prefer to buy tickets from UM and sit next to other UM fans. I think I saw IU already has a B10 tourney package up for sale on their site.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 196

robertzurbuch

January 20th, 2010 at 9:28 AM ^

I go to Indy all the time on business and I stay at the Downtown Hilton on Market and Illinois. It is a fantastic hotel with plenty of extras. I think I pay somewhere in between $125-$200 a night depending on the type of room I stay in. Great breakfast, paper delivered to your door every morning. Also walking distance to everything that downtown Indy has to offer. I am also trying to go down for the tourney and that is where I will be at. I would recommend going to Acapulco Joe’s; it is a little Mexican restaurant, with great food and a lot of it. EDIT: Also if you have Hilton Honors then you can get extra discounts and possibly a free night.

Joined: 07/20/2009

MGoPoints: 13

umjgheitma

January 20th, 2010 at 9:28 AM ^

Can't really think that the price difference from downtown to Carmel would be more than $20-$30. If anything I would suggest staying near Broad Ripple. It's near Butler's campus and there's a nice stretch of a ton of good bars always filled with talent. So if you really want to get the most out of your trip I would say do like Friday night downtown and hit up Mass. Ave strip then do Saturday night on Broad Ripple Ave. Feel free to send me an email if you have future questions, its [email protected]

Joined: 12/02/2008

MGoPoints: 2388

UM Indy

January 20th, 2010 at 9:57 AM ^

I live in Fishers and really can't imagine that you would save that much staying in Carmel or Fishers compared to downtown. Plus you're right there near everything and don't have to worry about driving back and forth inebriated.

Joined: 03/05/2009

MGoPoints: 22202

hailhail97

January 20th, 2010 at 9:59 AM ^

I made reservations in November, I don't know if that makes a difference in price. Thurs-Sat. 3 nights $550 4 guys = $46 a night each. Not that bad for a weekend of beer & basketball with your friends.

Joined: 08/21/2009

MGoPoints: 665

Tshimanga Cowabunga

January 20th, 2010 at 11:29 AM ^

I would simply pick a hotel near Canseco fieldhouse downtown and then do the name your own price thing on priceline.com. While the Shatner commercials are pretty unbearable the deals are actually pretty good. As for tickets. I've gone down a couple times. I would maybe buy single day tickets to start off with then scalp them for each additional day you want to go. When teams leave their fans leave as well and often just want to get rid of their tickets so they can be had for cheap.

Joined: 08/09/2009

MGoPoints: 1294

Wolverine In Exile

January 20th, 2010 at 12:04 PM ^

the MCA Dome or the Black River Petting Zoo? As a former frequent visitor to Indy, you need to stay downtown. There's no good public transportation options from the Carmel / Broad Ripple area to downtown which is where all the action is. You might want to see if the IUPUI campus hotel has rooms available (I've stayed there realtively cheaply before and it's a not too outrageous taxi ride to the bar area around Circle Center). Also, check with the UM Club of Indy-- they're pretty active and may have buses going downtown from a suburban location.

Joined: 11/08/2008

MGoPoints: 10788

Jeff

January 20th, 2010 at 2:14 PM ^

I went there for a tennis tournament this summer and stayed at the Hyatt downtown. It was very nice and I would recommend it without doubt. I had some deals which made it reasonably priced but it might be more expensive than you want. Perhaps you can find a good deal too.

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 1435