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OT: Stadium Tour

RocketsandCanes said:
I would love to. I've heard great things about ECU and Greenville as a whole. I have family in Raleigh and Charlotte so thankfully I am able to make it to NC every few years to visit them. My dad and I were planning on going down to the Miami-Wake game this year until COVID. But next year (as long as things are back to normal) I'm sure I will hit up one of the remaining NC teams on my visit.
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Can’t wait to go to Wake this year bc it’s a very nice stadium. It’s a real shame their fans don’t care and they’re never good.

Greenville isn’t all that great unless you’re in school. Just go get a cheese fries burger at sup dogs and catch a game. That’s really all the experience you need.
 
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NC_Canes_11 said:
Can’t wait to go to Wake this year bc it’s a very nice stadium. It’s a real shame their fans don’t care and they’re never good.

Greenville isn’t all that great unless you’re in school. Just go get a cheese fries burger at sup dogs and catch a game. That’s really all the experience you need.
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Can't beat a burger and a game. I'll definitely take your recommendation.
 
For those who inquired about the economics of my trips here is a breakdown of the North Texas/SMU trip so far:

My flight booked: $82 round trip from CHI to DFW on American Airlines. But I had a prior credit because I was supposed to go to a bachelor's party in Lville right when COVID hit. So I used that credit and ultimately paid $0 for the flight (weird situation I know).

My 2 buddies and I are splitting a two bed hotel with a couch for one of us to sleep on, which cost us $250 for the 2 nights, so it works out to about $83 per person. This could go a lot lower if we wanted to get a crappy AirBnB, which we have done before, but we opted for a little nicer spot this time around.

We also split a rental car (mid size suv), which cost us about $130, so $43 per person. Again this could be cheaper if we got a compact car. But my buddy is 6'5 and pretty big so we didn't make him squeeze into a Toyota Yaris.

Tickets are unknown yet. As of right now we are looking at paying about $65 per ticket, which I would normally never do for a G5 game, but times are weird and seating is limited.

Food/Drinks are unknown right now but I'll ballpark it at $150.

So total right now I'm estimating $341 total for this trip. And like I said, this will be more expensive then I would usually spend since we are only going to one game (or maybe both the SMU and N. Texas game if the tickets/times work out) this year.

Some tips for keeping the games on the cheaper side: Drive if you can. I have for most of my trips.

If you have to fly, try and tack it on to a trip you were already taking. I am thankful to have a fiancee who loves college football and traveling. So if we take a trip in the fall we generally hit up a game. We went to the MN game while we were there for a wedding, Air Force while we were in CO Springs for her birthday (She suggested it), and the NC schools when we go down to visit my uncle (where we stay for free obviously).

Also stay with friends and family who live near the stadiums, lodging is a huge cost. I thankfully have a huge family who is spread out pretty much all over the place, so that helps a ton.

Also, airport selection is key. If you can fly from an airport in a bigger city, the flight will likely be cheaper. I live in Milwaukee, but flying out of CHI is generally (not always) a lot cheaper. When I lived in Columbus, we could get some good flights from there but I also drove to Detroit and Cleveland to get better flight deals. You obviously have to weigh this cost with time, gas, and parking (I generally have someone drop me off/pick me up so I don't have to pay for parking). I also just bring a backpack as a personal item on most flights so I never have to pay for baggage.
 
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RocketsandCanes said:
For those who inquired about the economics of my trips here is a breakdown of the North Texas/SMU trip so far:

My flight booked: $82 round trip from CHI to DFW on American Airlines. But I had a prior credit because I was supposed to go to a bachelor's party in Lville right when COVID hit. So I used that credit and ultimately paid $0 for the flight (weird situation I know).

My 2 buddies and I are splitting a two bed hotel with a couch for one of us to sleep on, which cost us $250 for the 2 nights, so it works out to about $83 per person. This could go a lot lower if we wanted to get a crappy AirBnB, which we have done before, but we opted for a little nicer spot this time around.

We also split a rental car (mid size suv), which cost us about $130, so $43 per person. Again this could be cheaper if we got a compact car. But my buddy is 6'5 and pretty big so we didn't make him squeeze into a Toyota Yaris.

Tickets are unknown yet. As of right now we are looking at paying about $65 per ticket, which I would normally never do for a G5 game, but times are weird and seating is limited.

Food/Drinks are unknown right now but I'll ballpark it at $150.

So total right now I'm estimating $341 total for this trip. And like I said, this will be more expensive then I would usually spend since we are only going to one game (or maybe both the SMU and N. Texas game if the tickets/times work out) this year.

Some tips for keeping the games on the cheaper side: Drive if you can. I have for most of my trips.

If you have to fly, try and tack it on to a trip you were already taking. I am thankful to have a fiancee who loves college football and traveling. So if we take a trip in the fall we generally hit up a game. We went to the MN game while we were there for a wedding, Air Force while we were in CO Springs for her birthday (She suggested it), and the NC schools when we go down to visit my uncle (where we stay for free obviously).

Also stay with friends and family who live near the stadiums, lodging is a huge cost. I thankfully have a huge family who is spread out pretty much all over the place, so that helps a ton.

Also, airport selection is key. If you can fly from an airport in a bigger city, the flight will likely be cheaper. I live in Milwaukee, but flying out of CHI is generally (not always) a lot cheaper. When I lived in Columbus, we could get some good flights from there but I also drove to Detroit and Cleveland to get better flight deals. You obviously have to weigh this cost with time, gas, and parking (I generally have someone drop me off/pick me up so I don't have to pay for parking). I also just bring a backpack as a personal item on most flights so I never have to pay for baggage.
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Leonardo Dicaprio Ok GIF
 
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For anyone wondering, I was able to get North Texas tickets for this Saturday. Thankfully the school ended up selling a limited amount of single-game tickets. I was a little worried I was going to have to pay $60 on stubhub to watch two conference USA teams play. But they were only $20 through the school.

Now fingers crossed the game doesn't get cancelled via COVID. Last week's UNT game did. I'm pumped about this matchup because I will get to watch Frank Gore Jr play for Southern Miss.

I'll give an update next Sunday on the stadium/game/town, etc.
 
Texas trip was a success. Watched Frank Gore Jr. run all over the Mean Green, and didn't even catch COVID (got tested to prove it). Here's the recap:

Game: University of North Texas v. University of Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Date: 10-3-20
Location: Denton, TX
Stadium: Apogee Stadium
Stadium Total: 23/130 = 17.6% complete

Notes:

Apogee Stadium was a lot nicer/bigger than I thought it would be for a G5 directional school. Really fun place to watch a game even with a reduced crowd. UNT campus was pretty nice as well but it seemed like a ghost town, I'm sure due to COVID. UNT's basketball stadium is nicknamed 'The Super Pit,' so that's cool. Stadium sells beer, and the pizza there is solid.

Denton itself is a cool little college town. Not far from the campus is Denton Square, which is literally a town square centered around the old town courthouse. It's a beautiful old building. The entire border of the square consists of bars, restaurants, and cool little businesses. We ate at LSA Burger, which was really good. Has a rooftop patio as well. Not a good place to watch football though, TV's only play music videos. We decided to leave the square to find a bar to watch football at until the game started, and we ended up at a place called the Dive Bar about 10 minutes from Denton Square. Great staff and beer selection. Hung out there for like 4 hours.

A bunch of people told us that Denton was like a mini Austin. I have never been to Austin but based on its reputation as a hippie/artsy city it makes sense. Denton had a cool environment. A lot of people were hanging out in the lawn around the square and there was a group of people that met up and played music on the lawn as well. I think it was just a show up and jam type of thing because there were some random instruments and people of all ages playing.

Definitely recommend taking the 30 minute drive north to Denton from Dallas for a game if you are in the area. A lot of fun for a G5 game. Here's a couple of bad iphone pictures I took (the beer didn't improve my photography skills).
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I am once again asking for some recommendations. Any Illinois/Mass residents our there?

Watching Nebraska play at Illinois on August 28th and Toledo play at UMASS on October 2nd. Would love some food/bar/other recs for Champaign and Amherst. For the UMASS game we will be staying in Boston and driving to Amherst. So any Boston recommendations are welcome as well. Thanks in advance!
 
RocketsandCanes said:
I am once again asking for some recommendations. Any Illinois/Mass residents our there?

Watching Nebraska play at Illinois on August 28th and Toledo play at UMASS on October 2nd. Would love some food/bar/other recs for Champaign and Amherst. For the UMASS game we will be staying in Boston and driving to Amherst. So any Boston recommendations are welcome as well. Thanks in advance!
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Re: Amherst
Whenever we go visit family outside Hartford, my wife and daughter live going to the Yankee Candle factory. While that might not be something your group would enjoy ( it bores the **** out of my son and I), there is a restaurant called Wolfie's that's in Deerfield about 15 minutes from Amherst. Great little deli type place.
 
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JD08 said:
Re: Amherst
Whenever we go visit family outside Hartford, my wife and daughter live going to the Yankee Candle factory. While that might not be something your group would enjoy ( it bores the **** out of my son and I), there is a restaurant called Wolfie's that's in Deerfield about 15 minutes from Amherst. Great little deli type place.
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Perfect thanks for the recommendation. We may have to hit Wolfie's up before heading back to Boston. Was hoping to stay in Amherst that night but it's parents' weekend apparently and every hotel within a half hour is sold out. Didn't expect that.
 
Made the 3.5 hour drive down from Milwaukee to Champaign, IL last Saturday, here's a short recap if anyone is interested/heading there for a game.

Game: University of Illinois v. University of Nebraska
Date: 8-28-21
Location: Champaign, IL
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Stadium Total: 24/130 = 18.4% complete

Notes:

Memorial Stadium was pretty basic, but nice. That is to be expected from a stadium that was built 100 years ago (although I'm sure it's had renovations since then). I'd guess the stadium was probably 80% full for most of the game, and the crowd was really solid atmosphere-wise. That being said I would say probably 25% of the fans were Nebraska fans. I've seen Nebraska play 3 times now, all on the road or a neutral site and their fanbase travels in droves anywhere they go. Pretty impressive. The Illinois fans were super nice. Got to talk to one of them for a while. Didn't realize they view Iowa as their biggest football rivalry. I would have thought it would be Northwestern.

The one draw back, and I am going to chalk this up to not hosting fans since 2019, was their concessions. It was a hot *** day. Well into the 90's. They ran out of water and Powerade in the stadium before the end of the first half. It was honestly a safety hazard with how hot it was. They allow you to bring in a sealed water bottle and I would definitely recommend doing that. I got one beer while I was there and I waited in line for a solid 20 minutes. They really need to figure out a better concession plan.

Parking was $25 to park on campus about a 5 minute walk from the stadium. Not too bad for the convenience of it. I'm sure there were cheaper options a little further out as well.

It was my second time on UI's campus and I will say its a good looking campus architecture-wise. Nothing that will blow your mind but there are definitely worse places to spend a gameday.

After the game we ate at a place called Murphy's Pub: https://murphyspubuofi.com/

It is about a mile and a half from the stadium. I was there with an alum and she said it's one of the staple college bars in town. You order your food at the bar and they call out your order from a pick up window. Pitchers of beer were fairly cheap and the food was pretty good for being basically fast food. I got the dirty bird chicken sandwich and would recommend that. Shoestring fries were the best part.

Lastly, here are a coupe bad iphone pictures from our seats in the endzone (which had a good view for the price):
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Very delayed here, but I made it to two other stadiums this past year. First up is the CFB juggernaut that is Umass.

Game: University of Toledo v. University of Massachusetts
Date: 10-2-21
Location: Amherst, MA
Stadium: McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Stadium Total: 25/131 = 19.0% complete

Notes:

McGuirk is very much a glorified high school stadium. I say that in the best way possible. You can literally talk with the players on the sideline. Our tickets were $25 bucks and we sat at the 50 yard line about 15 rows up or so. There were very few fans in the stands. This was a little odd because it was parents weekend so the campus, and the tailgating scene, was packed (and a lot of fun). The fans that were there were really eager to talk about Umass football and were honestly happy to have some road fans at the game. Their concessions are supposed to be top notch as far as CFB stadiums go surprisingly. I had a burger which was decent, but nothing to write home about.

I don't recall how much we paid for parking, but it wasn't expensive, and we were able to park pretty close to the stadium, right around where everyone was tailgating.

We didn't get a chance to see a ton of the campus but it seemed nice. However the area of Mass around Amherst is beautiful. A lot of rolling hills and cool old houses that felt like they could have been around during the revolutionary war.

Unfortunately we were in and out of Amherst before and after the game. We wanted to stay in Amherst for the game but since it was parents weekend every single hotel in the area was booked solid.

Here are a few pictures from the game:

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Second up is Northwestern. We made it down to their homecoming game which was a cool experience.

Game: University of Iowa vs. Northwestern University
Date: 11-6-21
Location: Evanston, IL
Stadium: Ryan Field
Stadium Total: 26/131 = 19.8% complete

Notes:

I had always heard that Ryan Field (along with Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue) were some of "the worst" stadiums in power 5 football. I liked Ross-Ade, and I also really liked Ryan Field. That being said, it is a little weird. It has a cool old school feel. You can tell it was built in the 20's and then haphazardly expanded at one point. It feels like a bit of a maze to get around because you had to walk outside the stadium (but inside some temporary fencing) to get from one sideline to the other. Not sure if this was just because there was a big crowd for homecoming or if it is like that for every game. The game itself was packed with alums, which had a really cool feel.

We parked about a half mile away at the medical center parking garage, which was free. Thinking back on that it was kind of a **** move on our part as they probably don't want football traffic taking up hospital parking. There were a ton of fans that parked there, but I won't do that again next time.

We didn't hit any places to eat in Evanston but obviously there are a ton of great spots in Chicago in the surrounding areas.

This upcoming year I am planning to hit Toledo at San Diego State, Pitt at Western Michigan, and hopefully games at Wisconsin and NIU since they are close. I'll have a lot more time this fall so hopefully I can make those and maybe another one if I get lucky.

Here are a few pictures from the game:

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RocketsandCanes said:
Second up is Northwestern. We made it down to their homecoming game which was a cool experience.

Game: University of Iowa vs. Northwestern University
Date: 11-6-21
Location: Evanston, IL
Stadium: Ryan Field
Stadium Total: 26/131 = 19.8% complete

Notes:

I had always heard that Ryan Field (along with Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue) were some of "the worst" stadiums in power 5 football. I liked Ross-Ade, and I also really liked Ryan Field. That being said, it is a little weird. It has a cool old school feel. You can tell it was built in the 20's and then haphazardly expanded at one point. It feels like a bit of a maze to get around because you had to walk outside the stadium (but inside some temporary fencing) to get from one sideline to the other. Not sure if this was just because there was a big crowd for homecoming or if it is like that for every game. The game itself was packed with alums, which had a really cool feel.

We parked about a half mile away at the medical center parking garage, which was free. Thinking back on that it was kind of a **** move on our part as they probably don't want football traffic taking up hospital parking. There were a ton of fans that parked there, but I won't do that again next time.

We didn't hit any places to eat in Evanston but obviously there are a ton of great spots in Chicago in the surrounding areas.

This upcoming year I am planning to hit Toledo at San Diego State, Pitt at Western Michigan, and hopefully games at Wisconsin and NIU since they are close. I'll have a lot more time this fall so hopefully I can make those and maybe another one if I get lucky.

Here are a few pictures from the game:

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Nice! It looks better than I would have imagined. Good luck this season. Looking forward to the Wisconsin review
 
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I think you will really like Western Mi. Kazoo is a neat city and Waldo stadium fits well there. When I went there many years ago, Western was deemed by Playboy as the number 1 party school in the country. No arguments. Lots of Lake Michigan party nites on the beaches.
 
Uda1 said:
I think you will really like Western Mi. Kazoo is a neat city and Waldo stadium fits well there. When I went there many years ago, Western was deemed by Playboy as the number 1 party school in the country. No arguments. Lots of Lake Michigan party nites on the beaches.
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So I'm really excited for Western. I actually grew up in Saginaw and surprisingly I've never really spent much time in Kalamazoo. And WMU and U of M are my last two schools I haven't hit in Michigan. My brother in law is an alum and he recently moved back there so he will be showing is around. I thought it was really cool they get to host Pitt too. Any can't miss spots to eat/drink while we are in town?
 
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