M-Dog

August 7th, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^

Thanks!

I just bought my seat: Premium Lower Level, 40 yard line, on the Michigan side.

Warning: They hit you up for a madatory $55 donation to the Terrapin club for Premium Lower Level seats. 

Fuck it, you only live once.  It's still probably cheaper than a Stubhub fee.

 

M-Dog

August 7th, 2017 at 11:07 AM ^

NOICE.

The "official" visitors section is Section 2 lower level, and section 302 upper deck.

The de-facto Michigan section in 2015 was sections 2,3,4 lower level, sections 202, 203, 204, 205 middle level, and sections 302, 303, 304, 305 upper level.

There was also a signifcant Michigan presence everywhere but the student section.

This was all after the game got moved from a night game to a noon game because of a hurricane.  The weather was not great and a lot of people got scared off because they thought it would be worse.

So, Michigan basically took over the place.

Dan84

August 7th, 2017 at 10:49 AM ^

As mentioned above, there should be plenty of Michigan fans throughout the stadium, but based on last time, it seems to be much more concentrated on the side behind the visitors bench, whereas there actually are some Maryland fans behind their bench. So basically any section whose last digit is a low number will get you into a heavy Michigan section.

Yo_Blue

August 7th, 2017 at 1:39 PM ^

I went to Maryland two years ago and I don't think they were prepared for the number of Michigan fans.  I spend the entire halftime and 5 minutes of the third quarter in line at the concession stand.  There had to be less than 20 people ahead of me.  The ineptitude made me think they must be Rutgers students rather than Maryland.

KTisClutch

August 7th, 2017 at 1:08 PM ^

I looked up the old Ticket Watches from 2015. At around the start of teh season Seth said to buy as it looked like the market wasn't going down. Then because of a huge storm that people thought might come in the prices plummetted the week of. Can't assume that is going to happen again though.

M-Dog

August 7th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^

There will be a high demand from Michigan fans.  There are a lot in DC/MD/VA and the Wolverines have not been in town for 2 years.  Michigan fans showed up in force in 2015, under threat of a hurricane.

If you want to sit in the "Michigan sections", get your tickets early.  If you don't care if you are interspersed among Maryland stragglers on their sections of the field, you can wait.

 

Mr. Owl

August 7th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^

Is the Maryland stadium difficult to get to via public transit?  I thought about heading down from NYC.

I looked it up, but it seemed like a pain.  Wondering if anybody has experience.

S FL Wolverine

August 7th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^

Also, based on the reply above, there is a metro stop on Maryland campus.  That looks like it's on the Green line and Union Station is on the Red line.  So you could take Red line to Fort Totten and then switch to Green line.  I think the NYC to Union Station routes are via Amtrack.

ChalmersE

August 7th, 2017 at 11:33 AM ^

If you take the Northeast Corridor train rather than the Acela, most of them stop at New Carrollton before getting to Union Station.  Then you're about 15-20 minute taxi/uber to College Park.  If you don't want to spring for the taxi, then your best bet is to go into Union Station and take the Red Line to Fort Totten and then shift to the Green Line to College Park and walk the rest of the way.

FabFiver5

August 7th, 2017 at 10:30 AM ^

I drove from Michigan two years ago for the Maryland game. To this day, I still get emails and phone calls from their athletic dept telling me when Mchigan comes to town for football and basktball games. I've told them I was only visiting, but they persist. They must not be able to even sell out big games with their own fans.

SpikeFan2016

August 7th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^

From my experience, the best seats are in the 200 deck. High enough to have a great view, on the Michigan sideline (even though there will be UM fans everywhere, will be slightly more on the North side). 

 

The low rows of the 100 level are hard to see and the 300 level gets really steep except for the bottom few rows. 

M-Dog

August 7th, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^

Agreed.  High-number seats in the 100 level, and 200 level seats are good seats.

I had seats in the 300 level upper deck in 2015 and I did not like them.  It is steep and windy and remote and it feels very isolated from the action.  

Even though as the crow flies you are probably closer to the field than the upper rows in Michigan Stadium, you don't reallly feel like you are part of the stadium because of the way the upper deck is configured.  You feel like you are watching from afar.

As the game wound down in 2015, I went down to the 200 level and 100 level seats and it was a world of difference.  

Ths time, I bought high-number seats in the 100 level.

 

buddhafrog

August 7th, 2017 at 11:11 AM ^

NOVA resident here - buying tickets for my two sons and I. So glad Maryland is in the B1G for this reason only.

Last year tickets didn't get cheaper as the game got nearer. Prices kept going higher (save for the last minute hurricane thing, but still, prices didn't go very low). That was Harbaugh first year though and everyone wanted to go. This year, UM might be undefeated and I see tickets not getting cheaper just becuase of the Michigan interest. But Maryland will be better as well, so little pressure pushing prices down. I've decided to get my tickets now.

jackw8542

August 7th, 2017 at 12:08 PM ^

Got tickets through the alumni club last week but was not told where they were other than lower deck.  The alumni club tickets were only available last week due to demand, but it signals a big Michigan presence.

M-Dog

August 7th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^

I could not even get lower deck alumni seats because of the demand.  They all sold out right away.

I got them from the OP link above.  They cost more than the alumni lower deck seats, but I got to pick my specific seat, still in the "Michigan" section.

 

buddhafrog

August 7th, 2017 at 1:03 PM ^

INFO in case you don't konw the stadium:

Lower bowl first many rows are obstructed - right on the field and really can't see the field.

Even the highest sections are pretty decent seats as the stadium is much smaller the The Big House. $55 seats in top section are good seats for the money.

UM fans will take over the corner-through-50 yard line of visitor bench, then decreasing as you wrap around the stadium. Most season ticket holders are right behind Maryland bench so avoid that side if you want to be with Michigan fans.

Also, Go Blue. Fun environment. Easy (and often free) parking. Good college town. 

M-Dog

August 7th, 2017 at 1:34 PM ^

Good college town, really?

I've been to many college towns and I thought it was the worst one I've ever been to for game-day atmosphere.  

The campus itself is nice, but there is no actual town, just a hard-to-cross very busy street and some strip-center shops.

Granted, I may need a tutorial.  Even though I've lived 20 miles from College Park for 25 years, I never really spent that much time there.  There may be some hidden college-y areas that I don't know about.

I know it's a lot better than it used to be, but I stilll found it depressingly lacking in the college town department.

 

 

buddhafrog

August 7th, 2017 at 1:55 PM ^

Clarification. I've only been there once - for 2015 game. Good college town to me meant easy parking, nice tree-lined old buildings that I pass on my walk to the stadium, good restaurant afterwards. *Extremely* limited criteria. I could probably call most towns with colleges a nice college town.... so you are probably correct.

As for game day atmosphere - no, that was not in my equation at all. Except if you are a Michigan fan at Terps Stadium, it was, in fact, a great atmosphere as it was majority maize and blue.

greymarch

August 7th, 2017 at 1:05 PM ^

I attended the 2015 game.  About 60-70% of the people in the stadium were UM fans.  Will be the same this season.  Almost anywhere you sit will have UM fans near you.

 

In 2015 the NE part of the stadium definitely had more UM fans than any other part.  In fact, after the game many of the UM players came to the NE part of the field and sang the UM fight song with the UM fans in seats. 

 

Last week I bought tickets from the UM DC Alumni club for the game.  The seats are in the "lower level", but I do not yet know which section of the lower level.  Shall assume it will be section 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6.  I even emailed the prez of the UM DC alumi club, and he didnt know where the "lower level" tickets provided by the DC club would be.  Took a bit of a risk buying through the UM DC Alumni club.  Hope it pays off.

smwilliams

August 7th, 2017 at 2:20 PM ^

Wife is a MD alum and we're in NYC so definitely gonna make the trip down there. Lived in CP for a year or so and it's not a great football atmosphere but hey no complaints that Michigan is in town.



Thanks Delany!

M-Dog

August 8th, 2017 at 10:02 AM ^

The Michigan bar is in DC:  RFD, near Chinatown / Verizon Center (where they held the BTT this year).

It's not really that close to College Park though.  You can take the metro or cab / Uber.  

If you go after the game, by the time you get there, most of the Michigan fans will be gone however.

 

WolverineGoneTerp

August 7th, 2017 at 10:51 PM ^

I am starting my 9th year on the UMD faculty--attended Michigan for undergrad and master's degrees (long ago...).  Here is some info for those coming to campus for the game.

College Park is a good (no, GREAT) college town IFF you take the metro into DC.  If you want to stay in town....um, not so much.

Getting there.  From NYC, I recommend bus or train to Union Station then metro.  There is a free shuttle from the College Park metro station to the Stamp Student Union on campus.  Five minute bus ride and about a 2 minute walk to the stadium.  Folks have already outlined the red line/green line transfer at Ft. Totten.

It's also possible (but a lot longer) to metro from New Carrollton to College Park.  This, however, is a little rougher area than Union Station.

By car.  As others have said, if you Uber from DC you will probably get surge rates, etc.  By DC standards, game day traffic isn't too bad.  (Keep in mind what DC traffic standards are, though...)

If you're driving, you can park at the College Park metro station and take the shuttle to the game.  The parking is cheap, though you'll have to spring for a DC metro "SmarTrip" card to pay the $5.  They don't take cash or credit cards at the parking exit.

Food.  In College Park:  Ugh.  There is a restaurant in the UMUC (U of Md. Univesity College) Marriott that's decent.  THe places on Route 1 (the main street that passes campus) are very student-ish.  They're all ok, and I don't have any to especially avoid or favor. 

There is a Gus's Famous Fried Chicken on Greenbelt Rd. that's very good.  There is a Hard Times Cafe (chili/beer/sports on TV) on Route 1 and a Buffalo Wild Wings also on Route 1.  All three of those would require an Uber ride from the stadium, though.

Food recommendation:  If you can, take the metro down to Columbia Heights in DC and you have awesome choices.  Free shuttle to/from metro station and easy train ride.  Other areas of DC are great too, but Columbia Heights is right on the green line metro and would be the easiest for out-of-towners to navigate.

Where to stay.  Close = expensive.  The "traditional" choice would be the UMUC Marriott.  Very nice rooms.  Link:  https://www.hotelplanner.com/Hotels/22554/Reservations-Umuc-Inn-Confere…

UMD is also opening a new luxury hotel right across Route 1 from campus.  You could walk to the game from either hotel (UMUC is closest but this new place is easy, too).  "The Hotel" is scheduled to open any day now, but it's still screwing up traffic with construction.  They are hoping to have it open before classes start.  We shall see.  Link:  https://www.thehotelumd.com/

There are also Best Western and Quality Inn on Route 1.  I've never stayed in them, obviously, but have never heard good things about them.  All of our campus guests get put in the UMUC.

Concessions at stadium.  Usually not too bad.  If you had issues in 2015, it's likely because a major hurricane was forecast and fewer people showed up to work. 

I hope this helps some folks.  Enjoy the game!

consultant22

September 25th, 2017 at 11:16 PM ^

Bumping this thread. Will fly in and attend this game with my parents who live in the DC area and are UM alums. Anyone know if people dump tickets close to gametime for under face? It seems there is still quite a bit of unsold inventory left, and I'm not sure how many of those premium tickets they are going to move given their donation rules. 

Any further knowledge would be appreciated. 

SpikeFan2016

September 25th, 2017 at 11:20 PM ^

In general, the super premium tickets are not likely to go under their face value. So if you're looking for lower sideline seats, it's better to buy from the venue as they're still available. 

 

The upper deck and endzone seats probably will drop below face the week of the game. 

 

Overall, if you want "good seats" buy from the University. If you just care about "getting in", but not where you sit, wait for secondary tickets.