Question re Wisconsin Parking

[RU'70]

A question for any one familiar with Badger parking situation. 1. About how far is it from State Capitol to Camp Randall Stadium? Assuming it is walking distance, is it possible to park in municipal lots around the Capitol for the day? I'm going to wind up at a restaurant near the Capitol after the game and figure to just park there for the day.

 

[badger1979]

You can definitely walk from the State Capitol to the Camp. It's a little bit of a hike but it's fun to look at the gameday scene, see the students and all the activity. You can stop and grab a beer at State Street Brats or the Regent Street Retreat on your way. There are parking ramps around downtown, just find one and park. It usually runs about $20 for the day, but get there early.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

OP I started a thread on another badger site where I asked for parking tips and eating places. You might find this useful
http://buckyville.yuku.com/topic/82...on-Oct-31st-Madison-Visit?page=1#.Vi8snCpVjT4

One thing to note is there will be a ticketed halloween freakfest parade and music event that night so state street exits after 6pm will be blocked off so not sure if you can exit out off any off the state street lots or garages after that time.

Also after doing some googling these are the list of madison public parking spots (other than parking in front of people's front yards) I was able to find. They're pretty inexpensive. Expected it to be way more frankly. They're also not far from the stadium most being well within 50min. Like the distance from say cook campus to busch (I used to walk that all the time back at RU).

http://www.cityofmadison.com/parkingutility/garagesLots/facilities/index.cfm

For eateries. I'll likely be going through this link.
http://www.madisonatoz.com/favorites.html

 

[RU_06]

I haven't been following on the board much. But I'm a Rutgers alumna living in Madison. It sounds like everyone has their questions answered, but let me know if I can help with anything.
Hope to see some of you Saturday. Should be a lot of fun.

 

[RU'70]

Thanks Badger 79 and Blitz, very helpful info. The 11:00 AM kickoff is really putting a chink in my original plans. I'm going to the R Game Day function which will now be at 9:00 AM! I plan to get to the Capitol area at 8:00 and walk to the stadium area. Don't know how many badgers will be awake and walking to stadium at that time, but I remember at Nebraska last year it was an 11:00 kickoff and the early crowd walking to the stadium from Haymarket was a fond memory.

 

[fischy5000]

Thanks Badger 79 and Blitz, very helpful info. The 11:00 AM kickoff is really putting a chink in my original plans. I'm going to the R Game Day function which will now be at 9:00 AM! I plan to get to the Capitol area at 8:00 and walk to the stadium area. Don't know how many badgers will be awake and walking to stadium at that time, but I remember at Nebraska last year it was an 11:00 kickoff and the early crowd walking to the stadium from Haymarket was a fond memory.

I believe the RUAA tailgate starts at 8amCentral (vs 9am) if the game is at 11amCentral.

 

[RU'70]

I believe the RUAA tailgate starts at 8amCentral (vs 9am) if the game is at 11amCentral.

Thanks Fischy. Don't know what I was thinking.

 

[phlop87]

My wife and I are staying at the Madison Concourse and walking to the game. Can you sign up for the RUAA tailgate on the day of the game or is that something I should/need to sign up for prior to that?

 

[RU'70]

You can go online to the Rutgers Alumni website and search for the Game Day page. You can sign up online and there are no physical tickets, etc. You just show up and give the receptionists your name. The location and all other relevant info is on the website page.

 

[Mike from MD]

We have 6 of us staying at the hotel within the Union South complex. Joining the Rutgers tailgate was a no brainer. The Union South hosts the Wisconsin pre-game pep rally. It's very impressive. The complex has a pub and food services. Good place to stop for refreshments, or to use the facilities before proceeding across the street to Camp Randall.

I saw an early weather forecast for light rain all day Saturday. Hope that changes!

 

[dieselkeane]

I was just in Madison about three weeks ago for the Iowa game, and we took an Uber to the stadium. We went to a couple of bars after the game and waited for traffic to slow down and did the same thing on the way back. We actual walked to Buffalo Wild Wings, and caught the Uber from there to our hotel.

 

[fischy5000]

My wife and I are staying at the Madison Concourse and walking to the game. Can you sign up for the RUAA tailgate on the day of the game or is that something I should/need to sign up for prior to that?

You can buy at the door if they don't sell out their alottment in advance. Each venue has different capacities. Some games fill up and some don't so it depends. I've called up the RUAA group in the past to get a better feel for how many spots are left.

 

[BadgerInSpartyland]

My wife and I are staying at the Madison Concourse and walking to the game. Can you sign up for the RUAA tailgate on the day of the game or is that something I should/need to sign up for prior to that?

You probably know this already, but Saturday night around your hotel is going to be a mad house for Halloween - as long as you know and you're fine with that, cool. I'm too old for that and I would stay somewhere else on Sat. night (if you're staying at all). Fri. night would be fine, and yes, it's a nice half hour to 45 minute walk from there, depending on the route you take and what you'd like to see. There's also a really wonderful (and locally famous for people-watching) farmers market every Saturday morning on the Capitol Square which you'll be right by - I know you're not likely to buy any produce, but they usually have breads, pastries, meat sticks, and cheese curds that you can snack on and coffee, too. It will add to your walking for the day and if the weather sucks, you might skip it, but it is a traditional Madison thing to do.

 

[G- RUnit]

Hello BadgerInSpartyland, Any recommendations post game to watch the World Series?

 

[BadgerInSpartyland]

Hello BadgerInSpartyland, Any recommendations post game to watch the World Series?

I would stay away from State Street on Saturday because of the aforementioned Halloween party. Regent Street bars (closer to the stadium) should be fine (Big Ten Pub will be packed before and after the game, but I would think thinned out by then), I would think, but I don't know for sure - here is a link to this sort of stuff on one of the Badger boards: link

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

I plan on parking in Capitol Square North Garage

This traffic plan should be helpful. It was posted on the above linked badger site.
https://www.cityofmadison.com/trafficEngineering/documents/FreakfestTrafMap.pdf

 

[BadgerInSpartyland]

Even though Madison is a mid-size town (300k in the area), the geography makes traffic an issue. The Capitol sits on an isthmus about 10 blocks wide between two lakes (which the map shows) and it's like a funnel if you're trying to go from one side to the other. Walking is a better option if you can.

 

[LadyRU09]

I'm staying in a cheaper hotel a little south of downtown and Ubering in. How many bars are open before the game, and how crowded do they get after? (I'm buying a ticket to Freakfest.)

 

[BadgerInSpartyland]

I'm staying in a cheaper hotel a little south of downtown and Ubering in. How many bars are open before the game, and how crowded do they get after? (I'm buying a ticket to Freakfest.)

All of the bars near the stadium - generally on Regent - will be open before the game. Because Camp Randall is in a neighborhood without big parking lots around it, the pregame scene is more about the bars than tailgating (though you will see lots of house parties). The bars typically put a temporary fence around whatever parking lot they have and make it into an outdoor beer garden - they're usually very crowded, but the 11am starts make them somewhat more subdued - drinking heavily at 9am is not a normal thing for most people. After the game, I don't think the bars are as crowded usually. You've got some time to kill between after the game and the night party, and I would explore campus a little - it's sort of on your way to State St. and makes for some picturesque, er, pictures.

 

[BadgerInSpartyland]

Well, thanks for letting me hang around the last week. The game - it's bad etiquette for me to comment, so I won't. I will say that this board's fans are good eggs. I hope I was able to add to the conversation, too. Good luck.