How is the tailgating scene at Big Ten venues?

[JonDMiller]

In light of our discussion on the changes that are going to be taking place in Iowa City, how does the tailgating scene in Kinnick compare to other venues around the Big Ten? When I go to those places, or have in the past, I am off to the press box so I cannot get a feel for it.

Will the proposed changes at Kinnick bring Iowa back towards the mean as far as tailgating experiences go? Or more Draconian than other venues?

 

[PStop]

Wisconsin comes to mind as being lax in terms of open container law enforcement. The times I have tailgated at Camp Randall, it seems like one giant frat party.

Michigan is more tame as the stadium isn't surrounded by huge parking lots and is closer to campus than some. That being said, people still stroll around with open beers without fear of retribution. Crowd control/monitoring gets tough anytime you get 105,000 people in a small area to watch a football game.

Northwestern doesn't tailgate. In all seriousness it is tough to find a tailgate spot close to the Ryan Field unless you are a big NU donor. We've walked around with drinks before and never had a problem with the police. I think the reason being the volume of fans that exist in Iowa City on gamedays is far greater than in Evanston.

Non-Big 10 teams (as of 2010):

Nebraska is a great place for big tailgate parties. People freely walk from lot to lot with open containers. Lincoln is a great place to enjoy some friendly tailgating without fear of police intervention.

Notre Dame is an environment somewhat like Lincoln in that ND has huge open parking lots where fans can tailgate and walk around with open containers. People at ND go all out with the food, etc at tailgates and as far as I know there is no restriction on when to leave the lots.

 

[Liq]

Michigan St doesnt really tailgate as either, sounds like they have pretty strict open container laws from the people we talked to while we were up there.

If they do tailgate, I must have missed it, and its definitely not to the scale of IC.

 

[LunchBocks]

Happy Valley is a giant, wide open version of Iowa tailgating. Instead of house yards, building lots, etc. they have huge grass lots all around the stadium on all sides. I'd say it's pretty comparable with people walking around with drinks in hand, coolers in tow, drinking games before the game, etc. I definitely had a good time out there.

 

[JHHawk]

I guess my impression is that when there are huge lots next to the stadiums like at PSU,ND,Neb ect...no problems with open container.
Kinnick is hemmed in by streets around it,and that limits movement if they want to get draconian.
NW is such a boutique football experience, it is hardly an issue. I do not think they want to squash attendance at a place that averages 25k by arresting people who walk with a can of beer from their lots to Ryan Field.
OSU and MSU have cracked down in recent years,from what I hear.
I have seen the same kind of new enforcement in Chicago around the public parks.
The city needs revenue so they issue tickets to make sure citizens buy 6 dollar beer from the city stands rather than bring their own.

 

[Section101Hawk]

Wisconsin: Agreed with PStop.

Ohio State:I went to Columbus last year and was not impressed. We drank a little too much Friday night and got of to what we considered a late start (8am for 3:30e kick). Ended up parking in the closest public lot to the stadium...it was a ghost town. At noon I took a picture down the middle of the row just to prove nobody was there. By 1 is started picking up. The big $$ lots right outside the stadium appeared to be fun, but that was about it. Also, you couldn't have open containers...you had to pour your beer into a solo cup (like Kinnick around 98 or so).

Minnesota: Haven't been to the new stadium, but while they were playing at the dome most of the tailgating was really just going to a bar. I'm sure that is changed now though...looking forward to making the trip this year.

Michigan: I'll report back later, planning on going this year.

 

[H8IAST8]

Wisconsin comes to mind as being lax in terms of open container law enforcement
The state of Wisconsin doen't have a public intox law, not sure on open container.

 

[H8IAST8]

Obviously Minnestoa was different cause you could drink in the Metrodome.

 

[Ihawk209]

Michigan isn't bad. I recall tailgating on/near a golf course

 

[DuffMan]

Wisky is a lot of fun. I'll tell you what, if I wasn't an Iowa fan and had to pick another B10 team to follow it would be them, Madtown is great.

NW is a double edged sword. Thier campus is gorgeous, and we tailgated last time in a lot that overlooked a beach and Lake Michigan, but as others have said it's all spread out and we walked 2 miles to the stadium through a ghost town to get to thier field (stadium isn't the right word to describe where they play).

 

[hawks31]

Wisconsin: Agreed with PStop.

Ohio State:I went to Columbus last year and was not impressed. We drank a little too much Friday night and got of to what we considered a late start (8am for 3:30e kick). Ended up parking in the closest public lot to the stadium...it was a ghost town. At noon I took a picture down the middle of the row just to prove nobody was there. By 1 is started picking up. The big $$ lots right outside the stadium appeared to be fun, but that was about it. Also, you couldn't have open containers...you had to pour your beer into a solo cup (like Kinnick around 98 or so).

Minnesota: Haven't been to the new stadium, but while they were playing at the dome most of the tailgating was really just going to a bar. I'm sure that is changed now though...looking forward to making the trip this year.

Michigan: I'll report back later, planning on going this year.

I also went to Columbus last year and took a picture at 8:33 of the parking lot by the stadium...only 1 car, pretty embarrasing. Found 3 tents of hawkeye fans together and it seemed like they were louder than the whole parking lot of OSU fans.

Ohio State PD was giving tickets for not having beers in a cup and were checking to make sure the people who were drinking were 21. They gave out at least 3 or 4 tickets at the tailgate we were at.

 

[IH8IAST8]

In light of our discussion on the changes that are going to be taking place in Iowa City, how does the tailgating scene in Kinnick compare to other venues around the Big Ten? When I go to those places, or have in the past, I am off to the press box so I cannot get a feel for it.

I have been to Iowa games @ Ann Arbor, East Lansing, & Columbus. I would like to point out that with the exception of East Lansing, I never really seeked out the craziest area to drink with tailgaters...in fact, East Lansing was so lame that we parked our case o' beer 20yds from the port-o-potties just so we could people watch.

edit: I guess I have been to L'Ames for a hawkeye game, as well, but that's not a B10 venue

OSU was the closest I have observed to UI, that is, people walking around drinking (and with the exception of a few stupid college students, all super nice). I wasn't super impressed with Ann Arbor as it was more laid back, have 2-3 before the game, grill fresh game, and get on to whatever else there is to do up there after a Football game.

I will say, not in any of those cities, did I experience anything like walking down Melrose on a Sat am. There were a ******** of people in Columbus but not until you got immediately outside the stadium were they packed shoulder to shoulder.

I'm anxious to cross the other B10-11-12 or whatever it is now, stadiums off my list. Really looking forward to State College & Madison. & FWIW, with all the rules they are bringing on board this year, I see it having little effect on the overall ambiance of UI football games. Yeah, there will be the occassional d$*khead that will be upset & rant about not ever going to a game again but that is all hypocritical garbage...they'll still come. Hell, you probably aren't even going to be able to get student guest passes to games this year; and as long as that is the case, people aren't going to care how the drinking is or isn't limited. Simple supply & demand economics.

 

[HWK4LYF]

PSU- A wonderful tailgate atmosphere, as they have huge lots surrounding the stadium. PSU fans are great.

OSU- The OSU fans were surprisingly very cordial and fun. As another poster mentioned, they have a bizzare open container law, which requires a person to pour their beer in a cup. The OSU folks that we tailgated with said that if one walked up to a police officer with a beer in the cup, one could have a conversation with them and it would be no problem; however, if a police officer witnesses one pouring a beer into a cup or carrying around a bottle/can--busted.

Go Hawks!

 

[okeefe4prez]

Wisky is a lot of fun. I'll tell you what, if I wasn't an Iowa fan and had to pick another B10 team to follow it would be them, Madtown is great.

NW is a double edged sword. Thier campus is gorgeous, and we tailgated last time in a lot that overlooked a beach and Lake Michigan, but as others have said it's all spread out and we walked 2 miles to the stadium through a ghost town to get to thier field (stadium isn't the right word to describe where they play).

I would give NU an edge over Iowa City. At the last game I went to up there (when Jake torched their D), we tailgated at the Aquatic Center (maybe same lot you were in Duff) right next to the Lake. These dudes put on a legit catered tailgate that had a huge bar in plain view with 15 bottles of various Scotch, Vodka, Rum, etc. They also had a keg. There was also plenty of bathroom capacity. On our walk to the stadium, we carried some roadies, but when we reached a certain spot entering a residential neighborhood, this friendly young cop asked us to please dispose of our beers so we didn't litter on the lawns in the neighborhood. We all complied. No threats of arrest or citation for violating the city's open container law or anything.

After the game, we went back to the tailgate and the caterers brought the dinner portion and we hung out until around 6 PM (several hours after the game ended) eating, drinking and watching football on satellite TV. To my knowledge, there were no roadblocks leaving, but I took the train home so I don't know for a fact that there weren't any.

My buddy from Wake Forest passed out after the game because he had a few too many to drink and then he passed out on the train. It seemed like the City was kind of grateful for the presence of the Stadium and wanted to make sure the visiting fans had a good time so they would come back in the future. Maybe I'll use the money I save from going to IC after they put the final nail in the Iowa tailgating coffin to buy a black Mercedes or BMW SUV and become a Northwestern fan.

 

[DuffMan]

I agree we tailgated in the same lot

 

[okeefe4prez]

I have been to Iowa games @ Ann Arbor, East Lansing, & Columbus. I would like to point out that with the exception of East Lansing, I never really seeked out the craziest area to drink with tailgaters...in fact, East Lansing was so lame that we parked our case o' beer 20yds from the port-o-potties just so we could people watch.

East Lansing's not bad. Last year it rained, so it was a little subdued, but my buddy was getting angry at his hillbilly friend from rural Michigan and so when the dude was in the john, my buddy held the door shut and significantly rocked the portapotty for a good 90 seconds. The dude came out covered in goo from the portapotty. I crushed some brews with Hawk fans on a random street after the game - all in all, I thought it was decent. The lots where the students tailgate are pretty crazy and the girls there are hot.

I carried roadies around and was never threatened with arrest or citation.

 

[DuffMan]

East Lansing's not bad. Last year it rained, so it was a little subdued, but my buddy was getting angry at his hillbilly friend from rural Michigan and so when the dude was in the john, my buddy held the door shut and significantly rocked the portapotty for a good 90 seconds. The dude came out covered in goo from the portapotty. I crushed some brews with Hawk fans on a random street after the game - all in all, I thought it was decent. The lots where the students tailgate are pretty crazy and the girls there are hot.

I carried roadies around and was never threatened with arrest or citation.

OK, now I'm on board. Your tailgate position is in the same vein as your affection for KoK.

 

[H8IAST8]

I have been to Iowa games @ Ann Arbor, East Lansing, & Columbus. I would like to point out that with the exception of East Lansing, I never really seeked out the craziest area to drink with tailgaters...in fact, East Lansing was so lame that we parked our case o' beer 20yds from the port-o-potties just so we could people watch.

OSU was the closest I have observed to UI, that is, people walking around drinking (and with the exception of a few stupid college students, all super nice). I wasn't super impressed with Ann Arbor as it was more laid back, have 2-3 before the game, grill fresh game, and get on to whatever else there is to do up there after a Football game.

I will say, not in any of those cities, did I experience anything like walking down Melrose on a Sat am. There were a ******** of people in Columbus but not until you got immediately outside the stadium were they packed shoulder to shoulder.

I'm anxious to cross the other B10-11-12 or whatever it is now, stadiums off my list. Really looking forward to State College & Madison. & FWIW, with all the rules they are bringing on board this year, I see it having little effect on the overall ambiance of UI football games. Yeah, there will be the occassional d$*khead that will be upset & rant about not ever going to a game again but that is all hypocritical garbage...they'll still come. Hell, you probably aren't even going to be able to get student guest passes to games this year; and as long as that is the case, people aren't going to care how the drinking is or isn't limited. Simple supply & demand economics.

I must be that ********, cause if **** like this continues, i will not buy season tickets. I can watch the game from my 50" LCD and make the trek for big games such as Homcoming or OSU, PSU, Michigan and Nebraska.

 

[okeefe4prez]

OK, now I'm on board. Your tailgate position is in the same vein as your affection for KoK.

I think you need to go to EL with a MSU alum who knows the ropes. It wasn't IC, but it wasn't Bloomington or Ames, either. And I think MSU has lower admissions standards than Iowa, so I thought there were some pretty decently talented young women wandering around.

 

[woodyk1]

Wisconsin comes to mind as being lax in terms of open container law enforcement
The state of Wisconsin doen't have a public intox law, not sure on open container.

While true that there is no law for public intox in Wisconsin, certain municipalities may pass city ordinances prohibiting public intoxication. For example, in Milwaukee, public intox is legal, however public drinking is not. (source Wikipedia).

I have been to OctoberFest in LaCrosse a few times in my earlier days, and I know the cops are involved there. I didn't see anyone arrested, but I am sure some of you may remember some of the incidents that occurred there in the past. I am not sure on Madison.