I bought some tickets today for the Maryland game on Oct 21st. This will be my first time ever seeing a game there. Does anyone have recommendations on nearby hotels, restaurants, etc…? Ideally, we’d love to choose the same hotel where the team will stay, but I don’t know if they publish that info - accept maybe through the DIA? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! After having an awesome time at the Duke game last year and tailgating with other Illini faithful, we’re ready to do it again!
Maryland game (Oct. 31st)
MoCoMdIllini
- Montgomery County, Maryland
Hope to see you there. There is going to be some kind of pre-game tent, and my wife and I are looking to get there, too.
Unfortunately I live about an hour away and just take the Metro, so I'm unfamiliar with the hotels by campus.
Unfortunately I live about an hour away and just take the Metro, so I'm unfamiliar with the hotels by campus.
I hope you have a good time. I asked a similar question last season and was extremely appreciative of how helpful the people on this site are. I'll link the thread because there were tons of really good recommendations but I'm sure you'll get plenty more in this one as well. https://www.illinoisloyalty.com/post/ohio-state-game-oct-11th-11-00am-ct-fox.39445/
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Hi. @Retro62 and I (both locals) will be there, too. As several others on the Board do, we have longstanding experience of Terp bball and football games. My highly (and negatively... it doesn't offer much) opinionated view of the University of Maryland follows:
We were also in Durham at the game last September. Oh that College Park were Durham-Chapel Hill. It's decidedly not. Don't get your hopes up about pregame off-campus options. The US-1 strip that constitutes UMD's campus town is grim. IMO, the worst I've seen in many decades of varied experience nationwide. I detest it and my opinion isn't uncommon.
One place I do like, however, is The Hall CP (https://thehallcp.co/) located in the parking lot directly behind The Hotel at the University of Maryland, just south of Campus Drive on the east side of US-1. Unfortunately, it's usually thronged and impossible to get into before bball or football games. Perhaps the Alumni Assn or DIA will have something pregame, though I doubt it.
Some bars exist farther south on US-1 just south of the College Ave/Regents Drive intersection. Limited experience with those and unimpressed when we've visited. We avoid pregaming in College Park and instead dine somewhere around Bethesda where @Retro62 lives before heading over to College Park on the Beltway (I-495).
Regarding parking, if you decide to stay at a hotel near campus you can obviously walk to the stadium. There's also a Metro station (Green and Yellow lines) in College Park that has a stadium shuttle running before and after games (drops you off at one of the res halls immediately NE of the stadium.)
If you drive to the game you can buy a single-game parking pass (~$40) online easily:
transportation.umd.edu
You'll find a handy parking map on that site that shows you the location of the lots. The parking lots north of the Xfinity Center (bball arena) are easy to get to from the Beltway via US-1 south and then University Avenue. Also fairly smooth to get out of if you're heading north to the Beltway after the game. You'll likely find any Illini tailgating up there. It will leave you with a walk of around 20-25 minutes to the stadium. I favor the Regents Park Garage, located off Regent's Drive between Stadium and Fieldhouse Drives. Very close to the stadium (5 min walk) but will take longer to get out of postgame.
The good news is that the Terps don't draw heavy crowds for games v. the Illini (as opposed to when they play OSU, Michigan or Penn State, which are basically home games for the visitors). Accordingly, if you wait a bit after the game you can get out of the Regent's Garage and on your way easily.
Frankly, I wouldn't stay in College Park if I were you. The campus and its surroundings are uninspiring. Don't know if you've visited DC. I'd stay there. The presence of the National Guard troops around town is controversial with many. However, it's indisputable that they've made the city dramatically safer, particularly in the center of town (I work a block from Metro Center station.) Downtown was getting fairly dodgy (like late '80s/early '90s dodgy) before their deployment, to the point that I avoided it altogether on weekend evenings. Very low volatility these days, at least during the week when I'm there.
Happy to do a sidebar discussing where you might stay in DC, or in College Park or elsewhere. At end-October you can probably get very good rates at nice hotels there 'cause it's well into off-season for tourism, From downtown you can easily catch the Green or Yellow line Metro at Gallery Place-Chinatown (located adjacent to the Verizon Center arena, home to the Caps and Wizards) out to College Park. Very easy connection from the Red line at Gallery Place, too, and a stop away at Metro Center (Red, Silver, Blue and Orange) means you don't have to endure the headache of parking on campus. I live across the river in Arlington, VA. My daughter and I will attend the Virginia Tech-MD game in mid-September. That's a game that, like OSU/UM/PSU and unlike Illinois, will be well-attended. We'll Metro.
Finally, regarding tickets, IMO avoid the upper deck on the north (Illini) side of SECU Stadium if you can. It's huge, exposed, and a mile away from the action. Also probably will be sparsely filled for our game. MD draws approximately as well as Duke for home games, but has a stadium seating 50k instead of Wallace-Wade's 35k. It's worth paying for tiks in the lower bowl or section immediately above (200s).
We were also in Durham at the game last September. Oh that College Park were Durham-Chapel Hill. It's decidedly not. Don't get your hopes up about pregame off-campus options. The US-1 strip that constitutes UMD's campus town is grim. IMO, the worst I've seen in many decades of varied experience nationwide. I detest it and my opinion isn't uncommon.
One place I do like, however, is The Hall CP (https://thehallcp.co/) located in the parking lot directly behind The Hotel at the University of Maryland, just south of Campus Drive on the east side of US-1. Unfortunately, it's usually thronged and impossible to get into before bball or football games. Perhaps the Alumni Assn or DIA will have something pregame, though I doubt it.
Some bars exist farther south on US-1 just south of the College Ave/Regents Drive intersection. Limited experience with those and unimpressed when we've visited. We avoid pregaming in College Park and instead dine somewhere around Bethesda where @Retro62 lives before heading over to College Park on the Beltway (I-495).
Regarding parking, if you decide to stay at a hotel near campus you can obviously walk to the stadium. There's also a Metro station (Green and Yellow lines) in College Park that has a stadium shuttle running before and after games (drops you off at one of the res halls immediately NE of the stadium.)
If you drive to the game you can buy a single-game parking pass (~$40) online easily:
Football Parking | Transportation Services University of Maryland
You'll find a handy parking map on that site that shows you the location of the lots. The parking lots north of the Xfinity Center (bball arena) are easy to get to from the Beltway via US-1 south and then University Avenue. Also fairly smooth to get out of if you're heading north to the Beltway after the game. You'll likely find any Illini tailgating up there. It will leave you with a walk of around 20-25 minutes to the stadium. I favor the Regents Park Garage, located off Regent's Drive between Stadium and Fieldhouse Drives. Very close to the stadium (5 min walk) but will take longer to get out of postgame.
The good news is that the Terps don't draw heavy crowds for games v. the Illini (as opposed to when they play OSU, Michigan or Penn State, which are basically home games for the visitors). Accordingly, if you wait a bit after the game you can get out of the Regent's Garage and on your way easily.
Frankly, I wouldn't stay in College Park if I were you. The campus and its surroundings are uninspiring. Don't know if you've visited DC. I'd stay there. The presence of the National Guard troops around town is controversial with many. However, it's indisputable that they've made the city dramatically safer, particularly in the center of town (I work a block from Metro Center station.) Downtown was getting fairly dodgy (like late '80s/early '90s dodgy) before their deployment, to the point that I avoided it altogether on weekend evenings. Very low volatility these days, at least during the week when I'm there.
Happy to do a sidebar discussing where you might stay in DC, or in College Park or elsewhere. At end-October you can probably get very good rates at nice hotels there 'cause it's well into off-season for tourism, From downtown you can easily catch the Green or Yellow line Metro at Gallery Place-Chinatown (located adjacent to the Verizon Center arena, home to the Caps and Wizards) out to College Park. Very easy connection from the Red line at Gallery Place, too, and a stop away at Metro Center (Red, Silver, Blue and Orange) means you don't have to endure the headache of parking on campus. I live across the river in Arlington, VA. My daughter and I will attend the Virginia Tech-MD game in mid-September. That's a game that, like OSU/UM/PSU and unlike Illinois, will be well-attended. We'll Metro.
Finally, regarding tickets, IMO avoid the upper deck on the north (Illini) side of SECU Stadium if you can. It's huge, exposed, and a mile away from the action. Also probably will be sparsely filled for our game. MD draws approximately as well as Duke for home games, but has a stadium seating 50k instead of Wallace-Wade's 35k. It's worth paying for tiks in the lower bowl or section immediately above (200s).