Planning a Trip to Northwestern Game...Help

[Alley]

We have a group of 12 going and are tailgating in campus lot 1 if anybody wants to get a big husker area going.

[Mike Mcdee]

We are going up Thursday AM and staying until Monday. We are trying to figure out if we should get tickets now or wait on them. There are plenty of tix on tickethippo so I guess we could play the waiting game.

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

Anybody have an idea on the time this game will be! Are there only certain slots available?

[RockyMountainOySker]

There will be a huge number of Nebraska fans at this game. Wouldn't surprise me at all if we actually have the majority in the stadium. I would suggest staying downtown in the loop or River North/Streeterville area. The CTA has a train that runs to within a block of Ryan field. Total time on the train would be about 45 minutes. Have fun in the city...bars, great restaurants, take an architecture boat tour if you have the time.

[Green and White]

I emailed my nephew (NW grad) and he came back this morning with the following info. on 'public parking' on the NW Campus. for anyone planning on driving up:

 

 

"Regarding the NU parking situation, there is definitely parking on campus, and NU provides several shuttles (i.e. school buses) that take fans to and from the stadium, free of charge. I'd recommend any of the northern-most parking lots just because it'll mean less time getting to and from the game. I think there's one on Sherman or Noyes, but don't quote me on that. The lots are all off of Sheridan Road. Hope this helps!!!"

 

As SkerChicago mentions above, if you haven't been to Chicago try to make it a long weekend. Some great sights, dinner cruises on the Lake, bars, music, museums, ethnic resturants, etc. etc.

 

[grahm3]

I've never done it but the MegaBus from Omaha to Chicago looks like a pretty nice deal...

[knapplc]

Forget parking. Just stay somewhere in the city and take the train. It's like 1,200 feet from the train stop to the stadium, right down Central Ave. Couldn't be more convenient.

[QMany]

I've never done it but the MegaBus from Omaha to Chicago looks like a pretty nice deal...

 

I've been looking at the MegaBus from middle Missouri. Train or bus is a good deal.

[TRIPP]

I've never done it but the MegaBus from Omaha to Chicago looks like a pretty nice deal...

 

I've been looking at the MegaBus from middle Missouri. Train or bus is a good deal.

 

 

we looked at megabus too, but again i think the time slots all sucked for when i plan to leave and come back. leaving friday after work hopeufully around noon, staying till sunday afternoon. latest check out as possible because i know ill be hung over and exhausted from all day saturday!

 

 

thanks for the pics of stadium, i will be buying cheapest tickets as it looks tiny!!

[Creed]

I've never done it but the MegaBus from Omaha to Chicago looks like a pretty nice deal...

 

I did the MegaBus from Ohio. It is a nice deal. Drops you off at Union Station, downtown Chicago. Take a cab or walk to your downtown hotel.

[TRIPP]

megabus is like $200 round trip for 4 people. yet i figured that to be same as gas cost.

[TRIPP]

So far, we only have 2 for sure with me so if anybody is reading this debating on going, more then welcome to ride with me. splitting gas money!

[TRIPP]

anybody with experience buying tickets through tickethippo? pretty simple as in buy and they ship to you before game? nervous about tickets online in case they dont show up or something. any other sites known for best buy and security?

[4skers89]

Just to clarify. We could be talking about 3 different kinds of trains.

 

1. Amtrak. You can take from Lincoln/Omaha directly into downtown Chicago, Union Station.

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

I've taken Amtrak from Lincoln to Chicago. Not a bad trip, just a little long. Seats are comfortable enough to get some sleep.

It looks like there is one train that leaves on Saturday from Omaha and Lincoln and gets in at 2:50 pm. If it is a night game you can get off at Union Station walk a few blocks east and take the CTA purple line up to Evanston. If it's a noon game it might be a little awkward. You'd have to stay overnight on Friday and take Friday off from work.

 

2. Metra. Trains that run from Suburbs into Downtown Chicago. I believe most routes end at Oglivie Station.

http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home/maps_schedules/metra_system_map.html

If you have friends that live in the suburbs you can take the Amtrak, walk across the street from Union Station to Oglivie Station and visit them. When coming into Oglivie it's useful to know which street you want to head toward since the exits are marked by which street to exit on. The nightly routes are spotty so if you want to party until 1:00 but need to get back to the burbs, you might have to wait until 5:00 or 6:00 before the next train.

 

3. CTA. The bus service also goes by this name. Runs local routes throughout Chicago. Been a while since I took this but I believe you need to purchase a card to get on and off. There are vending machines at the station so keep some cash handy.

http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/systemguide/default.aspx

You can get from Midway or Ohare airports on it.

http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/airports.aspx

 

If you scroll down to the downtown map here and zoom in you can see where the purple line is relative to the Oglivie and the Union Stations. Don't doze off if you need to take the Red line since you could end up in South Chicago.

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/brochures/ctaSystemMapBrochure.pdf

 

If you get drunk and disoriented and can't find the CTA line, running short of time or whatever, you can always hail a cab and tell them to take you to Oglivie or Union Station. Most likely their english won't be very good but they'll get you to those destinations.

 

Omaha to Evanston looks like 7 1/2 or 8 hour drive so theoretically you could get up early early in the morning and make it to a noon game. If you can do it, the better option would be take off work early on Friday drive and stay overnight. That's what I usually doing going the other direction. Sleep in a little on Saturday and be ready for the noon game. It's a drive I've made too many times. The windfarms in western Iowa are fascinating, otherwise get used to looking at corn and soybean fields (and it's Iowa). There is the Iowa 80 truck stop, apparently the worlds largest if you believe their sign. Food's not bad there. Gas in Chicago is more expensive so fill up before you get close.

 

Here's information on parking and transportaton to the campus

http://www.nusports.com/tickets/gameday-info.html

 

People in Chicago do have a thick accent. Try not to laugh. Also, they can be abrasive and rude so don't be shocked, it's normal. In case you haven't figured it out yet, Midwesterners aren't quite the same as people in the Great Plains states.

 

Now I'm getting excited for this game. I need to get a ticket.

[Blackshirts007]

anybody with experience buying tickets through tickethippo? pretty simple as in buy and they ship to you before game? nervous about tickets online in case they dont show up or something. any other sites known for best buy and security?

Yes we bought 3 tickets through them and got the 10% off but then with fees it's like an extra 15 per ticket, they literally got to us in two days after purchase however, which was very nice