We don't have a parking pass. Any recommendations for public parking with good tailgating? And I'm curious what everyone expects the crowd to be...50/50 or more hokies than eers?
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Ticketmaster still has some passes around stadium in VT areas for $45 . I Called Fedex and they informed me there would be cash lots but for $50, so figured Im alot better off getting a pass before I go and save time wandering around or parking in a bad area.
Don't know much about the stadium, but I think our fans will outnumber WVU's, so we should have your back in case you run into some ornery 'eer fans.
Hopefully its about 70/30 VT fans..but I Was surprised how many fans East carolina had at Charlotte in 2008
I'd expect at least 60/40 Hokies.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as a Redskins fan, there's no good parking at FedEx. You'll have fun when you tailgate. But there's nothing pleasant about driving into or out of FedEx
If it's anything like the Boise game, it'll be a friggin nightmare.
That was the worst jam I've ever seen after a sporting event. I couldn't even move out of my parking spot for over an hour.
Edit: Our Bristol lot was AWFUL when they made us wait.
We just started tailgating in the parking lot after the Boise game again. We saw nobody was going to be moving.
Ugh. I hate tailgating after losses. I mean, I get it in that case, but most times I just wanna go cry alone.
FedExField parking is consistently terrible everytime I've been there.
Bristol was the single worst experience I've ever had getting out of a parking lot. We were parked in a lot about a mile from the stadium, and in the "back" i.e. one of the last vehicles to get out. We pulled out of our spot around 12:45am and it was almost 3am when we finally got out out of the lot to the street.
I know this is a rare opinion, but getting out of bristol was one of the easiest exits from a sporting event I've ever experienced. I don't know if it's because of the lot we were in (we did have to walk forever to get back to the car) or the fact that we left with some time still on the clock (we stayed about 45 minutes away in VA and had a 6:30 or 7 am flight out of tri) but after the walk we pretty much just hopped in the car and jumped out onto a 4 lane and were gone.
We had no idea what we were doing or where we were going, but had we not magically gotten everything right we easily could have missed that flight.
Wow. My brother and I left with a little time on the clock too and sat in the Red Barn lot for over two hours before we moved 50 yards. They weren't letting anyone out
That day was as drunk as I've been since college. (I wasn't driving). I think we parked and tailgated in 'the shortcut lot' or the 'cut thru' lot or some private lot with the name 'cut' in it. I may have started cracking beers on the drive down at 7:00am. Place was pretty much empty except for the jackasses in the RV with their death piss orange checkerboard flags. We had our own porta potty. My parents still shake their heads in disappointment when they see me.
I can't leave early from games. I refuse to.
This ^ I (drunkenly) went down with the ship.
I know. I'm a bad person.
We did the same. We didn't even try to pull out of our parking spot in the Red Barn lot until we saw the other cars in line actually starting to move. I think it was about 2 and a half hours
You must have left early enough to get out of your lot before they held traffic on all the surrounding roads.
Man you were lucky. We pulled into one of the first lots we could once we got in the area around 8am and had a great day of tailgating. Had a wonderful view up on top of a hill beyond the RVs looking down on everyone else tailgating, it was great.
By the time we got back to the cars after the game, the police had already blocked off our lot preventing anyone from leaving. It was about 2:30am before they let the next car out after we got back.
Wait, they were actively preventing people from leaving the lots? Why would they do that? It was already late, and holding up traffic would just make it so that we were on the roads later and therefore much less safe. As it was, we finally got out of the lot at 2, were still stuck in stop-and-go traffic all the way to the interstate until about 3, and then we (read: I) drove 2 hours back to Blacksburg. It was miserable, and I consider myself fortunate that I wasn't so tired that I was fighting sleep the whole way back.
Because a lot of the people have to walk down the roadway to get to lots that are further away, they hold traffic so the pedestrians can go safely. They've done it this way for Nascar races forever.
Yes, but.... 2 hours?? You'd think they would stop the pedestrian traffic periodically to let some traffic out.
Moral of the story: Never attend a football game at a facility that has never hosted a football game before.
I made that decision during the shitshow trying to get into the stadium after the scanners went out at Gate 9. Trying to get into the stadium was one of the worst experiences I've ever been through at a sporting event. Then we get into the stadium and they run out of water during the first half after bragging about how much beer they purchased for the event. Which, given the cloudless weather that day and the fact that most people were out there from before noon for an 8:30 kickoff because of GameDay... not good. By the time the whole mess with leaving the lots came around, I was just rolling with the punches.
I walked back to my RV, drank a beer, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep. =]
For home games I realized that the convenience of the Lions Club comes at a price (aside from the premium cost for a pass that is).. the lots on Harrell, Green, etc take forever to clear out, only took one game of sitting in the car for 90 minutes to learn my lesson.. now the SOP for day games is to walk over Main Street and hit the bars, or for night games, just unpack some of the tailgating gear and have a post-game party for at least an hour.
What was your issue with the Lions Club parking? Just curious because I just got a season parking pass there (haven't parked there before).
Its on a bunch of little feeder streets that all head towards Main Street. They back up pretty quickly. But, if you want to just leave your car until its easy to drive away, downtown is really close.
Gotcha! Makes sense. Thanks for the response, I guess it will be a good excuse to keep tailgating.
^^ what he said. It's not a lot for a quick getaway, unless you leave the game early, which I never want to do.
Anybody have any idea what time we can get in yet?
We've parked at Jericho Christian Academy. Don't know about the tailgate scene per se, but it's an easy walk to the stadium and much easier to exit than the stadium lots.
Uber in and out, don't park there unless you have to it is a frigging nightmare. As someone who live and works in DC I can tell you there are a surprisingly large number of wvu fans and alumni up here, it should be interesting to see what the split is.
How do you uber out? How far do you have to walk to get out of the stadium traffic?
I've ubered out of there after a Skins game. I can't remember how far we had to walk, but it was still pretty close to the stadium. It wasn't too challenging - just be prepared for serious fair hikes.
that sounds pretty unfare
I know you were going for the pun, but it's simple supply-and-demand. Uber raises the fare when there are significantly more ride requests than the existing driver pool in the area can handle, partially to make money and partially to entice more drivers to hit the streets (since they pass on a decent portion of the fare increase). They call it "surge pricing".
It was a double pun considering previous commenter said "fair hikes".
FedEx is the worst.
Agree
Agreed. I'd much rather play at USPS, but they're never around on Sundays anyway.
Interestingly, USPS does deliver Amazon Prime packages on Sunday, in some cities.
Split should be easily in our favor. Last time I looked at the tickets that were still for sale.l, there were a lot more WVU tix than VT
For the most part, I take it that VT is on the "Redskins" side and WVU is the "Visitors" side when looking at the seat map of FedEx? I'm judging from what I'm seeing in section availability on the re-sale market.
It's more of a diagonal split across the stadium. Let me see if I can find a picture to illustrate.
Edit:
I got this from the WVU athletics site, so all the blank sections are Hokie sections.
Oh great, I'm in a corner section next to, in front of, and behind WVU sections. This is going to be fun.
I wish you good fortune in the wars to come.
I'm bringing an umbrella and a helmet now.
Body armour might be a good idea.
Can't give you enough legs for the laughs your video gave me, it's so right on.
At least it will be easy to move up closer to field into then empty seats at halftime.
Looks like the same setup as when we played Clemson last year down in Orlando.
I took a taxi to ACC Championship in Orlando. There were 4 people and cost less than $20.00. I was unsure about parking. It worked out great.
I was pretty pleasantly surprised at the parking situation. Most of the options were private lots, but there were plenty of them. Yay, capitalism?
I think this has some VTsections in it because my tickets were through VT and my section is shown in yellow
Look at the fine print under the color code in center. Good luck!
Best recommendations for parking? Easy... Don't go to FedEx so you don't have to park there.
Personally I'd get a pass ahead of time in the Redzone lot or a VT lot (Orange A, Orange H, or Green A) and just plan on being ok hanging out for a postgame tailgate to let traffic clear a little bit.
I'm glad the game is on Sunday and have off work the next day. I imagine it will be a late night by the time I get back to NOVA.
Are you meeting people to tailgate? If you are, take 50 to cleverly exit and park at the elementary school outside of FedEx of sheriff road.
Past season ticket holder, never sat in traffic or paid for parking.
Since it is an elementary school can you still tailgate (i.e. drink) there? Also would it be weird to get there in the morning?
I've never tailgated there, as we just went in. However, there really isn't anyone around and the school will more than likely be closed. The busiest I've ever seen it that this parking lot was for a Barcelona|MU game. Other than that, we were normally the only ones parking there.
You could also head in and meet up with some other hokies. The tailgating lot isn't that far of a walk.
I am planning at parking either at William Paca Elementary or Shoppers. You've never heard of anyone being towed at either, right?
So how did it go?
Another question about the game. Anyone know if they're going to be selling booze in the stadium? Never been to an NFL stadium for a college game so not sure if the NCAA would step in on that or not.
Should be selling booze. If you have club level seats, there is access to at least 3 different restaurants/bars/lounges. They also stay open 2 hours after the game as well.
Noice! Been going to Nat's games this summer and the whole bars closing in the 7th inning has been bugging the crap out of me.
Keep in mind this is only if you have tickets to the club level, suites or a special lounge ticket. And the website says up to 2 hours after the game. All normal alcohol sales is done at the completion of the third quarter.
Stadium Guide
If DannyBoy can make money on it, it will be happening. I would almost guarantee they are selling beer at the game.
Many college stadiums sell booze. VT just started, in the club sections. In fact, last year at the Bristol game, there was a huge ordeal about the speedway running out of water but having an "insane amount of beer."
They bought an insane amount of beer. I don't believe that they sold an insane amount of beer. I remember waiting in insane lines to get drinks, the beer not being cold, and deep in the third quarter still seeing a ton of those still wrapped, obviously unchilled pallets of beer just lying around.
That experience was incredible, I wish we could have hung onto the motherfucking football for more than 30 seconds, and I'll never go to a site hosting it's first football game ever ever again.
also, fuck rocky top. I don't know how you folks that live in that area do it. wanted to put a gun in my mouth before the game even started.
That VT article is from July 2015. TIL the club seats have sold beer and wine at Lane for the last 2 seasons. Just out of curiosity, what's the price and selection?
It's been almost two years (Duke game 2015) since I was in the "Indoor Club" seats, but if my memory serves me correctly they had a typical domestic light beer, Bull n Bones Maroon Effect, and Redds cider. I do remember that they have the taps that pour from the bottom and thought that was cool. Not sure if it was free for the box or I just don't remember paying.
FYI I got an email back from the Redskins website, they confirmed the lots will open 4 hours prior to kickoff.
The lack of information publicly available for this game would be shocking were it any other organization that ran the venue...
The lack of information combined with a really short tailgating window is supremely disappointing.
So the lots won't open til 3:30 for a 7:30 game. Most realistic scenario is that you will be parked in line waiting for the lots until 3:30 when they open the gates, and won't reach your parking spot until 4. Figure for this game, you'll want to walk over an hour before kickoff because you know entry will be a disaster, reasonably leaving you about 2 and a half hours of legitimate tailgating, a decent portion of which will be setting things up and taking them down.
Oh, and for those who aren't driving and parking, the Metro will close at normal time, meaning you'll have to essentially sprint over to make the final run. Speaking from Boise experience there.
And people wonder why I had no desire whatsoever to head up for that game.
The fact that it's against WVU is the only reason I'm going. I'm sure this experience will cure me of future desires to see a game there.
I'm in the exact same boat. Born and raised Washingtonian (and unfortunately a Skins fan) and I told myself I would never go to FedEx again. Then VT-WVU was announced and I had to break that oath... hoping I don't regret it.
See, it's the fact that it's WVU that's keeping me away. Playing them in Blacksburg was bad enough back in the Big East days, and I expect it'll be much worse at a neutral site.
Park here for $25. Enter through Barlowe Rd. We arrived at 9 am the last two games and were able to get in without issue. Fuck this 4 hours before kickoff bullshit. If you park here you can make bad decisions all day.
PSA: there are no lights in this parking lot so pack up your tailgate before you head to the game.
At what time does it usually fill up? I am not sure my crew will make it there at 9am.
For Boise it got very full by early afternoon, but I'm not sure it ever filled to the point that they closed the gates. For Cincinnati it barely reached half capacity. We had plenty of room to gather our neighboring Hokie tailgaters and play a game of drinking rules kickball. For those who are curious about drinking rules kickball... you have to finish a beer by the time you reach home plate in order for your run to count. In order to keep everyone from dying you ARE allowed to share your beer with teammates (i.e. if I get tagged out at 2nd base I can pass my beer to the next man at bat so he has less to drink on the bases).
I have two parking passes in Orange H Lot that I am thinking about selling since this lot is A. Cheaper and B. Open a lot earlier.
Possibly interested if you plan on selling your Lot H passes (if you have not done so) - find me on twitter (at)cstepp80 and we can chat over DM...
They happened to sell yesterday. Sorry I posted over in the tickets exchange thread and didn't hear anything back. Maybe check over there. Also StubHub prices are dropping a bit now so you may be able to find a good spot there as well.
Ahh no worries - should have checked there! Thanks for getting back nonetheless!
Looks like end zones are being set up at FedEx.
Sigh
You know Whit isn't going to be happy to see this, not with all the time and money invested in the rebranding.
Oh, and we're rebranding academically within the next 12 months as well, had that confirmed this week. Fun times.
How does this even happen? Don't we normally provide our own stencils for neutral site games?
Ruhland deleted that tweet.
VT put this one out.
My mind still can't let go of the question: "where did that first pic come from?"
It looks fake to me. As in, it doesn't look photoshopped, it looks like a graphic rendering. But that could just be due to how fuzzy it is.
Plus, there's the little detail of the Redskins playing at FedEx on Sunday evening, and everything was all painted up for them. There's no way the field crew could have gotten the end zone repainted like that by Monday and not have the Redskins logo showing through. That's probably why we're getting a colored in orange end zone, to help cover up the Redskins paint underneath.
Now that I think about it, I want to say that's a render someone had put together prior to the Cinci game in 2012.
It's a fairly newer pic of Fed Ex, with the "boxes" at the top of the stadium taking seats out.
2012 game was a home game for cincy....both end zones had their graphics. Wasn't for the Boise St game, either.
Doesn't keep folks from making their own mock-ups, which is likely what that image was.
Anyone else here going to be parking in Orange Lot H? Just confirming that lot opens 4 hours before the kickoff?
I was but sold the passes on stub hub and am now parking in the cash lot off of Barlowe Road.
Can someone link me to this on Google Maps - work comp blocks pictures and certain embedded graphics.
Thanks
I think they're referring to this lot, between Brightseat / Landover / Barlowe
Yes, but I believe if you search for Jericho Lot it may take you to the church that is on a different side of the neighborhood. I have not parked there before, but here is the entrance to the lot.
Here is the comment that recommended this lot.
Thank you both - group of 20 college buddies are planning to tailgate at his parent's house up the road 20 minutes and take a party bus in around 4:30 PM. This must be the lot I tailgated in for Boise - we were there ALL DAY.
We're in Orange Lot A but I think all lots open 4 hours before kickoff (except RedZone which is 5 hours before)
Parking at FedEx is so shitty - now comes the part where 30,000 cars (well, 15,000 cars and 15,000 lawnmowers I guess) sit for hours before the lots open along the roads leading to the parking lots. We're already planning on getting "Near" the Orange Lot H entrance at 1:00p
Yes, parking lots open 4 hours before kickoff (3:30pm), as confirmed here:
http://www.redskins.com/fedexfield/wvu-vs-vt.html
It's absolutely hilarious that they list the Metro as a feasible option for leaving
It's totally a feasible option if you're okay with leaving at halftime and then dying in a tunnel smoke indecent on the way home anyway. Not being tethered to that farce of a public transit system in order to get to work is one of the best things about not living in DC anymore.
WVU going all white for the game... #AllMaroonEverything for us would make a great uniform match up.
#BeatWVU
https://www.smokingmusket.com/2017/8/29/16221580/west-virginia-thread-alert-uniform-watch-wvu-mountaineers-virginia-tech-hokies-2017
Didn't know where to put this but just saw on a friends FB page, from WVU's Marching Band:
It's pitiful that Fedex can't accommodate two bands. The pregame show is far more important in terms of hyping up fans and creating excitement. I hope we at least get something in return for "allowing" WV to have it. Enter Sandman would be a fair trade.
That was my thought too. This is yet another failure on FedEx Field's part. VT has been to many neutral sites where both bands were allowed to get their fans going for pregame. This is stupid.
Anyone know the reason why FedEx has different guidelines? Seems an odd thing to control unless marching bands are tough on the turf/field.
Everything about Fedex for college football games is screwed up. From parking lots to tailgating, To metro after the game, to this crap.
I can honestly say I've never been in a stadium for a pre-game band performance. I never even heard of such a thing until this thread.
It's where images like this come from, if you've ever seen them:
So, the same stuff I'd expect to see during a halftime show?
No. Very rarely will you see the school spirit ra ra stuff at halftime. You'll get a different show the band has worked on for that week in particular.
Typically the MVs only pull out their pregame show for night games and 'special' games (kickoff series, ACC Championship, bowl game). WVU's band does theirs before each game to my knowledge.
Do you walk in during the national anthem? Because that's the last part of the pregame performance.
At Tech, HTs do most of the pregames, and MVs do most of the halftimes. Usually one game a year they swap.
I preferred marching during pregame anyway. Meant I didn't have to leave the stands during the second quarter.
I could be wrong, and if so that's fine, but I think it's as much a time thing as anything else. It's a regular season game, not a bowl game. The home team plays at half time. No time for both to trot out there Pretty standard stuff.
I think what they put out was just about as PC as you're going to get.
That's the excuse FedEx will use, but the Chick-Fil-A kickoff allowed both bands to be on the field for pregame. I remember this fondly cause I was excited to be near the dancers that Bama's band uses. I'm a simple man.
Wait wait wait... we don't get Enter Sandman??? I would understand maybe not having the corps there for the tunnel but surely they'll still play it like normal right?
Why would they? It's a neutral field game...I wouldn't expect it.
Neutral field game that was created when Snyder bought out a WVU home game. I don't expect to be as bad as Bristol, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are home-field nods to WVU and not VT for that reason.
I don't think that's correct. We are considered the home team. I'm pretty sure this was signed as a true neutral site game.
Snyder did not buy a WVU home game.
If he did, we wouldn't have two more games upcoming against WVU. We're not going to be making 2-for-1 deals with them.
Look at all the ads and promos, we're listed on the right side of the graphics, which is where the home team is listed in non-neutral games.
I stand corrected - we are the home team. I'll drink when I get to happy hour!
BTW, this buyout theory? had nothing to do with our home & home series. My understanding was that the Redskins bought out a WVU home game that did not have an opponent scheduled yet, then went looking for an opponent to match them up with. Maybe it was one of WVU's other recent FedEx Field games.. or the Cincinnati game. Doesn't really matter though.. because we're the home team which means Enter Sandman!
Well that's promising! Here's hoping for Enter Sandman on Sunday too
Was played for USC too. Screw that phantom offensive PI call!
This tweet, posted at 7:22 PM, makes me think we'll have Enter Sandman.
Easy fix when tens of thousands are yelling:
LET'S GO...... HOKIES"
Looks like most people are saying the lots open 4 hours before kickoff. Anyone have any advice on the latest I should arrive to the area by car? My dad and I aren't big tailgaters and we'll be doing our pregame shenanigans at Harrington Harbor North, less than an hour ESE from the stadium.
What are the chances they open the lots early for tailgaters when cars are stacked up to get in before scheduled opening? Someone mentioned they may have done so for the Boise game.
I think it will depend on how hardy our party is. They did it last time because people were drinking, grilling, and throwing footballs in the middle of the street.
Let's make it happen fam!
The field is starting to take shape for Sunday night. It looks nice and I'm glad they're using our new wordmark. However, I do think it would've looked better if it was a maroon endzone, with orange text/white outlining, especially since we're wearing #AllMaroonEverything.
#BeatWVU
Guys, you know what we have to do.
Down 82-18%.
Woah Roads is winning 77% to 23%. Hokie fans must have gotten into the bourbon early this weekend and stepped away from twitter.
The real question here is who the hell follows the FedEx field twitter account?
Dana Holgorsen
For the record, I don't follow, I was just looking it up to see if they had any field pics.
Somebody good at this shit help us come back and win this. We are good at coming back in random twitter battles.
Oh wait there is only 40 minutes left...
Well, it is FedEx Field's twitter -
Shore as much as I hate to argue with you on this one, but... we all know Fedex has ZERO authority over the metro. Those wmata people do not give a single fuck
Yea, you're absolutely right. WMATA is the worst. It's not and issue with FedEx. I just felt like complaining.
Yea I understand. What's the point of living on the metro if you can't go to a sporting event and stay for the whole thing?!