Northwestern Game: Who's going?

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nokomismod said:
$6 a ticket and the Wildcats are ranked 17th in the country??
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Northwestern is one fan base we have beat. Two years ago, bought 6 or 7 tickets off StubHub and the shipping cost more than the total price of the tickets. My group got in on a nice Northwestern alum tailgate right outside the stadium that day, and we've been invited back this year. Since it will be an 11 AM kickoff, we're going to the Blackhawks-Maple Leafs game that night.
 


nokomismod said:
What part of town is that? We are still looking at hotels and we are leaning towards downtown.
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We end-up spending a lot of time Downtown, but it's our 3rd trip to a game and we've always stayed at hotels in Glenview. Easy route to the game, much less expensive than Downtown and a good way not to have to fight all the traffic when we head back to the Cities. Often a good half-hour or so to get Downtown though.

The Gophers I understand are staying at the Palmer House ? Maybe that's where all the BTN money is going? :cool:
 

Iceland12 said:
We end-up spending a lot of time Downtown, but it's our 3rd trip to a game and we've always stayed at hotels in Glenview. Easy route to the game, much less expensive than Downtown and a good way not to have to fight all the traffic when we head back to the Cities. Often a good half-hour or so to get Downtown though.

The Gophers I understand are staying at the Palmer House ? Maybe that's where all the BTN money is going? :cool:
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The Palmer House was redone a few years ago I hear and is actually pretty nice again. Stayed there a few times in the past and it was in rough, rough shape. Will there be a 'Sota social there?
 


vinko bogataj said:
The Palmer House was redone a few years ago I hear and is actually pretty nice again. Stayed there a few times in the past and it was in rough, rough shape. Will there be a 'Sota social there?
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Never knew it feel into disrepair with parking pass it's from $279 to $329 a night. For many of us who never stayed there it was always thought of as one of THEE places to stay in Chicago. Sorry, don't know about the "Sota Social.
 

nokomismod said:
What part of town is that? We are still looking at hotels and we are leaning towards downtown.
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Here are my recommendations downtown- think you said you had kids with so with that in mind: Embassy Suites (either Lakefront or State Street) or the Hilton Suites on Delaware. Always do suites so Mom and Dad have time for cocktails after the kids go to bed (our kids are all elementary schoolers). Both easy walking/cab distance to sights, dining and El station for the game. Embassy has complimentary cocktail hours and nice pools and the Hilton Suites has the highest pool in the city with some nice views. Our kids are jacked for the game and another weekend in Chicago. SKI-U-MAH!
 

Iceland12 said:
Never knew it feel into disrepair with parking pass it's from $279 to $329 a night. It was always one of THEE places to stay in Chicago wasn't it? Don't know about the "Sota Social.
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Was there several times in 2006 (including one of my 2 home game misses since 1994 thanks to a stupid wedding my wife was in) and 2007 for work and personal. They were starting a renovation in 2007. Always was nice, but was getting worn and needed lots of work. My claim to fame was watching the infamous phanton PI call against us in the PSU game in the lobby bar pre-wedding in a suit screaming obscenities at the TV screen to the horror of those in the bar and lobby checking in. Think there still might be a "Deny Entrance" notice with my picture on it. Good times, good times.
 

vinko bogataj said:
Was there several times in 2006 (including one of my 2 home game misses since 1994 thanks to a stupid wedding my wife was in) and 2007 for work and personal. They were starting a renovation in 2007. Always was nice, but was getting worn and needed lots of work. My claim to fame was watching the infamous phantom PI call against PSU in the lobby bar pre-wedding in a suit screaming obscenities at the TV screen to the horror of those in the bar and lobby checking in. Think there still might be a "Deny Entrance" notice with my picture on it. Good times, good times.
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Nice, very nice! :cheer::cheer::cheer:
 



I attended the Gopher-Northwestern game in 2001. We got to campus early hoping to hit a bar or two only to find there really weren't any nearby. The further off campus scene was deemed too far to investigate given the rainy weather that day. By all accounts, little has changed. So if you're going, keep it in mind.

We eventually ducked into what turned out to be Welsh-Ryan Arena to get out of the rain. A small pep rally was in progress. It took about a minute to realize this wasn't a practice or intermural gym, but rather an actual Big Ten arena. It looks small on TV, but even tinier in person. There are seriously bigger high school gyms out there.
 

Iceland12 said:
Never knew it feel into disrepair with parking pass it's from $279 to $329 a night. For many of us who never stayed there it was always thought of as one of THEE places to stay in Chicago. Sorry, don't know about the "Sota Social.
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Good lodging tips vinko bogataj! Is the Palmer house the one with the cool Tiki bar in the basement?
It's a ways farther south, but the Hyatt by the Convention Center has very low occupancy (because it's not near anything fun and there are not any conventions in town) and rooms are around $80 per night Friday and Saturday.
 

The Big Ten was actually formed at the Palmer House. It was rebuilt in the 1920s though so it was the previous rendition of the building. The tiki bar, Trade Vic's, is gone from the hotel.

It's a solid hotel and has been recently renovated, but it's certainly no Peninsula, Trump, Waldorf Astoria or Four Seasons. ;)

If anybody wants to stay downtown that weekend and doesn't mind a little uncertainty/spontaneity...I absolutely love the app HotelTonight. I always feel like a shill for the company, but you can get 30-50% off great hotels. The catch is, there are only a handful of options and you can only book it the day you plan on checking in. I've used it in Charleston and New York City and ended up at fantastic hotels for well under the retail price.

The Chicago Gophers will most likely be doing a postgame party/Gopher Hockey watch party at Red Ivy Sports Club in Wrigleyville for anybody who ends up staying in the city.
 

my sister goes to Northwestern and it is family weekend at Northwestern on the weekend that the gophers are in town so i am going to that, i wonder if she is going to College Gameday this week in Evanston for the OSU game, that is maybe the biggest home game in school history
 



I will be there! I was amazed that we found great seats on Stubhub for FAR below face value (considering it's a small stadium AND and top 25 team!). We are staying downtown and taking the train to Evanston. Last time we were there we could NOT find a bar anywhere near campus. Thus, we ended up just heading back to Wrigleyville after the game and catching other college games at bars in that neighborhood. (Incidentally, we ran into other Gopher fans out that night and shared stories about how much we hate Iowa!).
 

The availability of cheap tickets for the game has come up a few times. ESPN did a story on it this morning.

Ryan Field, which has a capacity of just over 47,000. The number has climbed, as the team averaged 35,697 last season and through three home games this year, the Wildcats have drawn an average of 34,629. .

While the school does not release sales figures, Chenault said the season-ticket base is at an all-time high and twice what it was in 2009. Only a couple of thousand tickets to this game were made available to the general public.

This follows an aggressive marketing campaign launched in 2010 in which Northwestern branded itself as "Chicago's Big Ten team" and started targeting sales calls to fans in and around the city, even those who went to different league schools.

"Maybe they root for their alma mater, but for the other six games, they slowly become Northwestern fans," Chenault said. "It's kind of hard to stand out in Chicago."

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/85530/wildcats-are-purple-people-seekers
 


My brother and I will be there to cheer my Gophers on...
 

did I read somewhere that parking is free pretty close to the stadium?
 

NateDawgUM said:
The Big Ten was actually formed at the Palmer House. It was rebuilt in the 1920s though so it was the previous rendition of the building. The tiki bar, Trade Vic's, is gone from the hotel.

It's a solid hotel and has been recently renovated, but it's certainly no Peninsula, Trump, Waldorf Astoria or Four Seasons. ;)

If anybody wants to stay downtown that weekend and doesn't mind a little uncertainty/spontaneity...I absolutely love the app HotelTonight. I always feel like a shill for the company, but you can get 30-50% off great hotels. The catch is, there are only a handful of options and you can only book it the day you plan on checking in. I've used it in Charleston and New York City and ended up at fantastic hotels for well under the retail price.

The Chicago Gophers will most likely be doing a postgame party/Gopher Hockey watch party at Red Ivy Sports Club in Wrigleyville for anybody who ends up staying in the city.
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Thanks for the great tips NateDawg. I remember thinking that Tiki bar was a pretty cool for a hotel bar, but maybe I was in the minority. Interesting bit of history about the Big Ten forming there as well.
I think we will try to score a last minute deal on the hotel (thanks for the app tip). Chicago has enough capacity where the prices should come down for sure (unless Illinois also has a long MEA type of weekend).
We will check out the U of Chicago during the day on Friday as my daughter is quickly approaching college years.
 

NateDawgUM said:
The Chicago Gophers will most likely be doing a postgame party/Gopher Hockey watch party at Red Ivy Sports Club in Wrigleyville for anybody who ends up staying in the city.
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Anything in the realm of tailgating/pregame/etc. lined up anywhere?
 

dpodoll68 said:
Anything in the realm of tailgating/pregame/etc. lined up anywhere?
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Due to the time of kickoff still pending, we have extended the Registration Deadline to Tuesday, October 8th at noon!

Cheer on the Gophers with fellow alumni and fans at the University of Minnesota Alumni Association's tailgate!

Minnesota Gophers at Northwestern Wildcats Tailgate
Date: Saturday, October 19th
Time: Tailgate will open three hours prior to kickoff. Game time TBA.
Location: Evanston Wilmette Community Golf Course (4 blocks from Stadium)
Cost: Tailgate admission is $50 per person until October 8th; $65 per person after October 8th.

Includes:
A short program featuring President Eric Kaler, Athletics Director Norwood Teague, Board of Regents Chair Richard Beeson and Alumni Association President and CEO Lisa Lewis.

Catered by Goose Island Catering, the tailgate will feature a menu appropriate to the game time. Unlimited buffet and beverages for three hours is provided (beer, wine and soft drinks; cash bar for bloody marys and screwdrivers).
https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1118/magazine.aspx?sid=1118&gid=1&pgid=4631&cid=7359
 

OK - anything I don't have to take out a 3rd mortgage to attend?
 

dpodoll68 said:
OK - anything I don't have to take out a 3rd mortgage to attend?
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This. And would non alumni (sorry just a fan of the home-state team here) even be invited to the $50 x 4 = $200 event?
 

will any other holers (sans GW) be gathered anywhere that I can throw a beer back with? That is probably all I will have time for since I am making the 2 and a half hour drive that morning?
 


vinko bogataj said:
The Palmer House was redone a few years ago I hear and is actually pretty nice again. Stayed there a few times in the past and it was in rough, rough shape. Will there be a 'Sota social there?
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The Palmer House sucks (imo) since Trader Vic's closed.
 

Yeah, don't get me started on the UMAA's pricing for their tailgate. It has never been this expensive in the past and it boggles my mind. The venue is a falling down old American Legion club sitting on a crappy par 3 golf course, nestled up against the L tracks. Throw in some beer and cheap breakfast sausage and now we're pushing $70 per head? For three hours?

I've refrained from posting about it on here because they need to get the message that putting on events needs to be economical, not a name your price type of thing.

Anyway, our group has nothing planned before the game as I don't think the UMAA would be very welcoming of competition. The Northwestern official page seems to be down, but I know you can park and tailgate for free on the campus lots and take a shuttle to the stadium. That's probably the best option for visiting fans. I've been scouring the web for season ticket parking passes next to the stadium, but I haven't been able to find any.

The bar situation up there sucks. Bluestone is the only bar within easy walking distance of the stadium and I have no idea when they open on game days, assuming this is an early game.
 


gopherMD said:
I will look at various ticket vendors but can probably get tickets at the gate or from scalpers. Nebraska fans filled Ryan last year but I don't see that happening for the Gopher game,
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Ya, I don't understand why Nebraska fans would fill Ryan for a Gopher game either.
 

My girlfriend and I will be attending our first Gopher game ever on the 19th! Section 113.
 

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