Will be coming up for the National Championship game. Will there be a fan fest going on like the SEC Championship Game and other activities going around near the stadium on gameday?!? Also, any suggestions where to park or where I can possibly buy a parking pass ahead of time?
Questions about trip to Indy for NC game
- Thread starter RollTideMo
- Start date
I live in Indy and am happy to answer any questions you have. Looking forward to seeing Bama gear all over my city for the next week! Here's a few tips that will hopefully help:
Weather: It's going to be COLD! Highs Monday will be mid-20's with windchills in the teens. The stadium is domed, so the game will be nice and warm. But come prepared if you'll be walking around downtown or tailgating. It's not going to feel like a championship game in New Orleans or Miami.
Parking: There's a few options. You can check Stubhub or other 3rd party marketplaces for parking passes, but I wouldn't worry about it. There's not a ton of actual stadium parking because there's a ton of normal parking downtown around the stadium. If you get close to the stadium, expect to pay $40-50 for private lots. My go to center:
Circle Center Mall (parking at the Georgia St or Illinois St entrance). They don't jack their rates for events and it's a reasonable walk to the stadium. They have an underground 2 level garage and a 5 story parking garage across the street. It can take a while to get out, but it's the most reasonable close parking I've ever found.
Regions Tower - This is your cheap option, but not convenient option. It's an office building with public parking far enough away from downtown that they don't raise their rates. It's usually $5-10 to park, then about a 5 minute uber to the game. Other benefit here is this is next to Mass Ave, which is a big strip of bars/restaurants. (More to come on that) So you can park there before the game, hit up some cool spots, then quick uber/lyft to the game.
Private Lots - If you drive around or look on a map, you might be able to find some private lots selling public parking. These are usually the closest to the stadium, but the priciest options. For an event like this, I'd expect minimum $40-50. I don't have any specific lots in mind, but there's usually plenty of them.
Tailgating: Indy is a great host city and the game will be played right in downtown. There will be a fan fest with concerts. (I think Sam Hunt is playing last I saw) Usually a couple of streets are shut down around the stadium and they set up food trucks and fan zones. As cold as it will be though, I'm assuming most folks will pregame around the bar scene around the stadium. Couple of notes below. If you're going that route, get to your preferred spot early or expect unreasonable wait times. This will 100% be the popular choice both for incoming travelers and locals.
Bars/Restaurants:
Walkable: Right next to the stadium is Tavern on South. It's a decent spot, and huge, right by a stadium gate. Road closures might make it difficult to get to, but it's your shortest walk. Slippery Noodle is kind of a ratchet dive bar, but it's also a close spot to grab pregame drinks. My personal go to spot is Elison Brewery, good beers, solid food, not far of a walk. A couple streets up into downtown you have Georgia St, which has a few restaurants. District Tap is great, there's also a Hooters, Punchbowl Social, and a couple other options. St Elmos, which is easily our most famous local restaurant is right up there as well. Another street up on Maryland St there's Yardhouse and a few other places. All of these are walkable to the stadium if you want to park around them.
Drivable: About a mile northeast is MassAve, which is a strip of bars and restaurants. The Eagle, Bakersfield, or St Joseph's Brewery are my go to options here. A mile east is Fountain Square, which is another district of bars/restaurants. Hotel Tango Distillery is pretty cool. These two aren't walkable, but may be slightly less crowded with better local food options before the game and should have decent temporary parking. 4 miles north is Broad Ripple, which is another cool spot of bars/restaurants. It's right by Butler University, so some local college flavor.
Transit: Don't expect much. We have a random bus system called the Red Line. Runs North/South into downtown. It's worthless and basically just takes up road space. But if your hotel is close by a station and you don't want to drive or Uber, that's about your only option. We do have an easy network of Uber/Lyft options, so that's your best bet.
Other Activities: There's a few other museums in the canal area about a mile from the stadium Eiteljorg is cool, also the NCAA headquarter and museum is right there. For families, our Children's Museum is world class. Easily one of the coolest spots in Indy. It's about 3 miles north of downtown. The Pacers (Our NBA team) are home Saturday. We suck, so tickets are cheap these days, but that's right in downtown as well. IU has a home game on Sunday, and a game at Assembly Hall is bucketlist for a lot of basketball fans. That's about 90 minutes south, so I might recommend that if you plan on driving up Saturday and want a cheap stopover point for that night. Butler University also has a home game Friday night. A game at Hinkle is awesome, like stepping back to a more raucous version of the 1950's.
(Edit: I’m sure the mods would prefer I add the disclosure that it’s neither supported or condoned by TF, but worth noting sports betting is also legal in Indy. If that’s your thing, We have a sportsbook downtown over by the Pacers stadium called Winners Circle. They have food/drinks and tons of TVs. I’m betting that will be a popular spot between the championship game and NFL games on Sunday)
Hopefully these suggestions help. Please feel free to DM me if you have area specific questions by your hotels. I can't wait to have us play in my backyard for the first time and look forward to seeing you all there!
Weather: It's going to be COLD! Highs Monday will be mid-20's with windchills in the teens. The stadium is domed, so the game will be nice and warm. But come prepared if you'll be walking around downtown or tailgating. It's not going to feel like a championship game in New Orleans or Miami.
Parking: There's a few options. You can check Stubhub or other 3rd party marketplaces for parking passes, but I wouldn't worry about it. There's not a ton of actual stadium parking because there's a ton of normal parking downtown around the stadium. If you get close to the stadium, expect to pay $40-50 for private lots. My go to center:
Circle Center Mall (parking at the Georgia St or Illinois St entrance). They don't jack their rates for events and it's a reasonable walk to the stadium. They have an underground 2 level garage and a 5 story parking garage across the street. It can take a while to get out, but it's the most reasonable close parking I've ever found.
Regions Tower - This is your cheap option, but not convenient option. It's an office building with public parking far enough away from downtown that they don't raise their rates. It's usually $5-10 to park, then about a 5 minute uber to the game. Other benefit here is this is next to Mass Ave, which is a big strip of bars/restaurants. (More to come on that) So you can park there before the game, hit up some cool spots, then quick uber/lyft to the game.
Private Lots - If you drive around or look on a map, you might be able to find some private lots selling public parking. These are usually the closest to the stadium, but the priciest options. For an event like this, I'd expect minimum $40-50. I don't have any specific lots in mind, but there's usually plenty of them.
Tailgating: Indy is a great host city and the game will be played right in downtown. There will be a fan fest with concerts. (I think Sam Hunt is playing last I saw) Usually a couple of streets are shut down around the stadium and they set up food trucks and fan zones. As cold as it will be though, I'm assuming most folks will pregame around the bar scene around the stadium. Couple of notes below. If you're going that route, get to your preferred spot early or expect unreasonable wait times. This will 100% be the popular choice both for incoming travelers and locals.
Bars/Restaurants:
Walkable: Right next to the stadium is Tavern on South. It's a decent spot, and huge, right by a stadium gate. Road closures might make it difficult to get to, but it's your shortest walk. Slippery Noodle is kind of a ratchet dive bar, but it's also a close spot to grab pregame drinks. My personal go to spot is Elison Brewery, good beers, solid food, not far of a walk. A couple streets up into downtown you have Georgia St, which has a few restaurants. District Tap is great, there's also a Hooters, Punchbowl Social, and a couple other options. St Elmos, which is easily our most famous local restaurant is right up there as well. Another street up on Maryland St there's Yardhouse and a few other places. All of these are walkable to the stadium if you want to park around them.
Drivable: About a mile northeast is MassAve, which is a strip of bars and restaurants. The Eagle, Bakersfield, or St Joseph's Brewery are my go to options here. A mile east is Fountain Square, which is another district of bars/restaurants. Hotel Tango Distillery is pretty cool. These two aren't walkable, but may be slightly less crowded with better local food options before the game and should have decent temporary parking. 4 miles north is Broad Ripple, which is another cool spot of bars/restaurants. It's right by Butler University, so some local college flavor.
Transit: Don't expect much. We have a random bus system called the Red Line. Runs North/South into downtown. It's worthless and basically just takes up road space. But if your hotel is close by a station and you don't want to drive or Uber, that's about your only option. We do have an easy network of Uber/Lyft options, so that's your best bet.
Other Activities: There's a few other museums in the canal area about a mile from the stadium Eiteljorg is cool, also the NCAA headquarter and museum is right there. For families, our Children's Museum is world class. Easily one of the coolest spots in Indy. It's about 3 miles north of downtown. The Pacers (Our NBA team) are home Saturday. We suck, so tickets are cheap these days, but that's right in downtown as well. IU has a home game on Sunday, and a game at Assembly Hall is bucketlist for a lot of basketball fans. That's about 90 minutes south, so I might recommend that if you plan on driving up Saturday and want a cheap stopover point for that night. Butler University also has a home game Friday night. A game at Hinkle is awesome, like stepping back to a more raucous version of the 1950's.
(Edit: I’m sure the mods would prefer I add the disclosure that it’s neither supported or condoned by TF, but worth noting sports betting is also legal in Indy. If that’s your thing, We have a sportsbook downtown over by the Pacers stadium called Winners Circle. They have food/drinks and tons of TVs. I’m betting that will be a popular spot between the championship game and NFL games on Sunday)
Hopefully these suggestions help. Please feel free to DM me if you have area specific questions by your hotels. I can't wait to have us play in my backyard for the first time and look forward to seeing you all there!
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I do NOT like the name of that street that you mentioned above. Maybe you need to have that street name changed to Alabama St. after the game.
Ha! Would be ideal.
There is actually an Alabama St downtown. Right off of Mass Ave. Unfortunately not much to do there, and if you’re on it chances are you’ve taken a wrong turn.
I’m sure everyone will want to see the Peyton Manning statue.
There will be a Playoff Fan Central at the convention center. AT&T Playoff Playlist live will be a live stage with concerts Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (Doja Cat, AJR, Twenty One Pilots, Ava Max, Sam Hunt, Breland) on Monument Circle. BamaHoosier covered parking. I would say Mass Ave is within walking distance for most people. I parked near there yesterday for the Colts game and the walk wasn't terrible. The weather will be a big factor though.
Good tip! Makes sense they moved the Fan Central zone to the convention center. I’m wanting to say it was out in downtown for the Super Bowl in 2012, but could be wrong. I also remember Weather being better for that event.
I personally agree that MassAve is walkable. I think It’s just over a mile, which I’ve also done before… I guess it depends on how straight you’re able to walk after visiting all the bars down there. Lol
Edit: here’s the actual schedule of fan events and activities for those looking. This breaks down what’s in the convention center and what’s outside around downtown.
College Football Playoff Events : Calendar
Your guide for things to do in Indianapolis! Browse Indy events, attractions, restaurants, shopping and hotels. Discover the best Indianapolis experience and book your trip!
www.indyfootball2022.com
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The Super Bowl version of the Fan event was in the convention center as well. They had a lot of activities on Capital and Georgia Streets and the big Roman numerals on Monument Circle. The weather for the 2012 Super Bowl was insane. They equipped us with heavy winter coats and scarves, but I never needed it. There were days in the 60s even at night. There were many indoor events set up but people didn't do them because it was nice enough to focus on the outside activities. That was 2 weeks of activities and the Final Four is usually 5-6 days (Wednesday-Monday) so this will be shorter at 3 days. But I have every confidence that Indy will shine. People who have never been are always amazed at how close everything is.Good tip! Makes sense they moved the Fan Central zone to the convention center. I’m wanting to say it was out in downtown for the Super Bowl in 2012, but could be wrong. I also remember Weather being better for that event.
I personally agree that MassAve is walkable. I think It’s just over a mile, which I’ve also done before… I guess it depends on how straight you’re able to walk after visiting all the bars down there. Lol
Edit: here’s the actual schedule of fan events and activities for those looking. This breaks down what’s in the convention center and what’s outside around downtown.
College Football Playoff Events : Calendar
Your guide for things to do in Indianapolis! Browse Indy events, attractions, restaurants, shopping and hotels. Discover the best Indianapolis experience and book your trip!
We went to dinner tonight at St. Elmo's and the steaks were amazing. If you have the means I would highly recommend it. Steaks are $50-$75 each with one side and a soup (a couple aged options are over ($100). You can start to see some of the set up starting. I did noticed some restaurants are closed (including my favorite downtown BBQ place) likely due to the pandemic. I'll need to get updated on those before Saturday so I don't send anyone to something that's not open. If you want to go to St. Elmo's though I would recommend making a reservation now. Harry and Izzy's is nearby and part of the same company but a little less expensive. You can get their famous shrimp cocktail at both places.
BamaHoosier - thanks for the informative post to help me prepare my trip to Indy!! RTR to you brother!! Are you going to the game yourself? Speaking of parking - exactly where is this 2 level garage and 5 story parking garage across the street in the Circle Center Mall (Georgia St or Illinois St entrance) that you are talking of? I can't quite find it on the maps in satellite view as I'm leaning towards parking there. I will be coming straight there from St. Louis as I plan to leave between 4am to 5am that Monday morning.
Anytime and RTR! I’ve made the drive to STL many times. It’s easy.
Definitely planning on going, still working on tickets. Worst case I’ll post up in a bar outside the staidium and get as close as I can.
The underground garage is on the south side of the mall off Georgia street. Bottom right circle on the map below. The entrance is right across from the downtown Hooters. If you can’t find the garage on the map you can map to there.
The taller parking garage is directly across the street from St Elmo’s on Illinois. (I believe there’s another entrance off Maryland as well) That’s the left circle. On the map I believe the pin for “World of Wonders Garage” will take you to that 2nd entrance. Hopefully this helps clear it up location wise.
FYI, Illinois is a one-way heading north, Maryland is a one-way heading east. My only complaint with Indy is there are too many one-way streets, which can make backtracking tricky if you get turned around.
My last piece of advice is park in the taller garage if you can. It fills up quicker, but it’s usually quicker to get out of. The underground garage is only a couple floors, but it is massive. Only one entrance/exit and it’s pay as you leave. So it bottlenecks sometimes for up to an hour after a big event.
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I'll be wearing shorts thank you very much. My game day outfit can't be changed just for some hypothermia.
Nice try Satan!
Nice try Satan!
i will second St. Elmo’s. Went there a couple times when I was working up in Indy a few years back. Awesome steaks!
One thing I would highly recommend if you are looking for something to do is visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. It's on the infield of the track and you enter on the south side on 16th Street. It's not a very big museum and admission is only $5 or $10. They will often do track tours as well. You will be amazed at how large the facility is and how flat the track is. The corners have some bank but nothing like most NASCAR tracks. It was built as a test track in the early 1900s when Indy was competing with Detroit to be the automotive manufacturing capital of the US (we obviously lost). There were not many paved roads at the time so they built this as a place to test cars. In 1911 they decided to have a 500 mile endurance race. It was won by #32, the Marmon Wasp. The actual car still runs and is often on display in the museum..
I think my Indy 500 count is 19, and I've worked in the pits for the last 5 in person races (missed 2020) as part of the Safety Patrol (aka Yellow Shirts).
I think my Indy 500 count is 19, and I've worked in the pits for the last 5 in person races (missed 2020) as part of the Safety Patrol (aka Yellow Shirts).
We bought parking at 109 capital Ave and didn't realize it was a parking garage any idea on height to get in.
I have driven around the exterior of the track, spent time in the infield during pre-race festivities and attended several races. You are right it is amazing just how large the facility is considering the 18 hole golf course located in the infield. My first race in 1982 had an attendance of 350,000. That is another amazing thing to look down to the starting line from the 1st turn and the the massive number of people in the stands. A very unique event.
Looks like it’s cold up there.
For those there, do you detect much of a buzz in the air about the game?
For those there, do you detect much of a buzz in the air about the game?
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