Purdue Stadium-Ticket question
Question for other UM Fans that may have been to West Lafayatte before?
Do you know what sections are considered the visitors sections and will have many UM fans? Also what is there to do around in West Lafayette any good spots?
I am looking to make the road trip for the Purdue game on Sept 23 with two of my buddies this fall and was just seeing if its a decent trip to make. We did Notre Dame several years ago.
"What is there to do around in West Lafayette?"
Not much. Get in, get out.
The battlefeild for the Tiappacanoe battle in 1811 is right outside of town.
PU sucks and is a crap place to watch a game. Though the crowd will be 30-50% UM fans. Also, there is nothing to do before or after. West Lafayette blows nads.
@ IU would be a far far better game to attend on so many levels. Better stadium, better tailgates, so many good bars/restaurants. Bloomington is a great place to hang out for a weekend.
Harry's Chocolate Shop is the Purdue version of the Jug/Charlies, worth hitting up if you don't mind the crowd.
Visitor's section was located directly under the scoreboard in the endzone, which conveniently houses roughly 1,000 speakers that will shatter your eardrums and magnify any hangover.
McGraw's Steakhouse is pricey, but the nicest restaurant in the area. Some of the hotels run free shuttles to it.
Having been to every B10 away game location, PUR is near the bottom in terms of overall atmophere IMO.
Been there for both games. It is a fun place - small bowl and close to the action. Granted, the second game was more fun than the first, but you are only a half hour train ride from NYC.
They blast that damn train horn constantly.
they don't play the train horn often when the home team scores zero points.
I am taking my sons down for the game. If it seems like there is a big enough crowd from the blog maybe we will drive the MGoBus and do a pre-game tailgate!
Michigan in West Lafayette in 2004. I believe I got tickets from Michigan's website. They had a horseshoe type stadium with a small section of bleachers in the end zone. Our seats were in that end zone section and I seem to remember they had quite a few Michigan fans there.
I live in WL, unfortunately. The things to know:
1) That weekend is homecoming for Purdue. The kids here do a thing called "Breakfast Club" where they get up crazy early on gameday, dress in themed costumes (groups of kids pick a theme), and then hang at the bars which are all open at 6 am. If you get to town in the morning, you may have to dodge drunken costumed students as they stop mid-street to puke. Homecoming will make this worse. Lots of alums in town to re-live their Breakfast Clubbing past.
2) The main drag at Purdue is under a two-year construction project. State Street is closed, and you will have to plan a creative way to get around town. Not sure how much this impacts the WL bar scene (Harry's as mentioned is the best, but there are some okay college spots now that will be fun enough on gameday... 308, Neon Cactus). This definitely impacts the usual tailgating spots on the westside of town, which are harder to get to. Also note: tailgating spots are far from bars (at least a half mile and probably farther).
3) The only decent part of a Purdue trip is actually probably spending some time in Lafayette proper. Main St has some good bars and the college kids don't come across the river much so you can actually enjoy a sit-down meal and some good microbrews. Hipster spot is called Black Sparrow... no TVs, but good food and music. Most of the sports bars (DT Kirby's has the best albeit greasiest food) are Cubs themed. Be prepared for everyone to be more into the Cubs than Purdue. That being said, downtown Lafayette is a decent experience and in my opinion is far superior to WL. A last recommendation for beer is to swing north down 9th street (it will seem like you are leaving town and getting towards farm country) and stop by People's Brewing Co. Great beer and a fun atmosphere, although the place is small.
The stadium experience is pretty terrible, and you will likely regret dropping >$60 per ticket. In the good ol' days (was it 2012?) I could get 10 Michigan-Purdue football tickets for the same cost as one Michigan-anybody home ticket. Homecoming will mess that up.
Good luck to all coming for the visit! Go Blue!
I visited a few times for Breakfast Club. It is awesome. I think it only works because they don't care that much about the football games, but it's a blast.
What Santosbree said. Downtown lafayette has a bunch of bars and restaurants that are all walkable. I'd recommend Thieme & Wagner (small place, but tasty drinks), Chumley's (huge beer selection), Digby's (big patio for people watching), The Spot (will probably have live band good & nice craft selection), Knickerbocker (oldest bar in lafayette)... Red 7 is one of the better restaurants if you want some non-bar food.
I live in Lafayette.
Quality summary - thank you.
None of this will stop me from being at the game, though.
Best place I went to for dinner / drinks was Lafayette Brewing Co. It's on the opposite side of the river from campus.
visitor's section is in the endzone. Don't sit there. The endzone is the worst view. Plenty of cheap tickets in better sections will be available. Purdue will be 0-3, 1-2 at best, going into this game. Sit wherever you want. Purdue fans treat Michigan fans well in my experience. Been to plenty football and basketball games in West Lafayette and have never had an issue with a single fan.
I second the McGraw's vote from Mort as well. It's on the Wabash River and the food has been great every time I've gone. Go to Harry's as well. Lafayette Brewing Co. makes some good beers, so check them out. The other bars like Brothers, Where Else?, and Jake's are packed with college kids. If you're in that age group, go for them. I'm too Danny Glover for that shit now that I'm 34.
Tailgate by the golf course. D and T lots are the spots I've tailgated in the past. Always have had fun there. Here's a map of the tailgating lots. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pur/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2016-1…
Do not listen to the people here that are telling you not to go. I don't get that mentality. If you have the opportunity to go watch Michigan play in person, take it and enjoy yourself!
I am going to the Purdue game, too. I bought my tickets off the Purdue website and, hopefully, bought tickets behind the Michigan bench. I am expecting a beautiful fall day with a big Michigan win, so the atmosphere will be great! I have never been to West Lafayette so I have nothing more to offer.
Planning on going to that game myself. West Lafayette's a bit of a dump. The stadium's fine - no particularly bad views anywhere. Should be plenty of Michigan fans around and the Purdue fans are decent people. I'm sure the place will be packed given that it's a football Saturday and apparently homecoming, too, but if you don't mind a wait, stop at Triple XXX for a burger before leaving town. Best burgers in the state and the best root beer I've ever had.
Lacking by Big Ten standards, West Lafayette is still a better college town than South Bend.
How long ago were you in South Bend?
Eddy Street commons is nice, and Downtown SB has a ton to offer. I like it WAY more than WL.
I assume you can call the Michigan ticket office and they'll tell you where the visitors seats are, as Michigan will get a certain allotment of tickets for the game. However, I wouldn't worry too much about sitting with Purdue fans if that's where you happen to end up.
They have absolutely nothing to talk shit over, and my guess is that most of them will have left by midway through the third quarter when Michigan is up by at least 4-5 TDs. So at that point you'll be surrounded by Michigan fans.
I've never been to West Lafayette, but I've heard that as far as college towns go, it's nothing special. Tailgating for the games has got to be pretty meh, but that's what happens when your team has been awful for years.