Tips for visiting fan to Utah

[collegefootballfan81]

Hey All,

My buddies and I are big college football fans, and we love traveling to new places for games. We’re working on a blog that gives tips to other football fans when they travel to away stadiums for games. I’m trying to hit all the Pac 12 schools, and I was hoping you’d indulge me on some questions about Utah football games. Basically, what I am asking is that if you and I met randomly on an airplane and I told you all about my trip to Utah for a football game, you wouldn’t have to say, “You did it all wrong, next time you should …”

Since you guys are the experts on a perfect trip to Salt Lake City, I wanted to see if you would answer a few questions. Feel free to answer any or all of them that you’d like, and if you can think of any other info I’ve overlooked feel free to throw that in there too!

TRAVEL

1. Is a rental car necessary? How is the public transportation system/Uber in Salt Lake?

HOTEL

2. What’s the hotel situation like over the weekend of a game? How good is airbnb, vrbo, etc. in Salt Lake City? Are there any great resort towns nearby to stay at for a day?

FOOD

3. What are your favorite places to eat around Salt Lake during the college football season? How is the food in the stadium (anything a one-time visitor can’t leave the stadium without eating)?

TICKETS

4. What is the best option for visiting fans to buy game tickets? School Ticket office? StubHub? Local Classifieds?

TAILGATING

5. Any general tailgating advice for a first-timer at a Utah game? Specific areas for visiting fans?

TRADITIONS

6. Some schools have unique game day traditions – do you guys do anything that’d be worth a visitor planning their schedule around? Are there any buildings or sites near campus or the stadium that visitors should check out?

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

7. If fans decide to make this more of a family vacation, are there any local sites/attractions that they would need to make room for on their schedule? Any can’t-miss Historical/Educational or Fun/Entertainment sites?

SAFETY

8. Are there any general safety issues fans should be aware of? Any areas visitors should avoid for parking, walking, etc? I know every fan base has its share of bad apples, but would you classify your general fan base as hospitable/neutral/in-hospitable?

OTHER PAC 12 SCHOOLS

9. Lastly, since I’m trying to do this for all the teams in the Pac 12, I thought I’d ask if you have any experience traveling to other schools in the conference? Favorite/Least Favorite Pac 12 school to visit for games? Any horror or success stories or general advice you’d give from your experiences?

As mentioned, feel free to answer any/all/none of the questions, and throw on any extra info that I may have overlooked. I’ll be sure to report back when our blog is posted so that you can see the finished product!

[RedLine]

TRAVEL
1. Is a rental car necessary? How is the public transportation system/Uber in Salt Lake?

Car rental is probably a good idea. Uber and Lyft are available. Public transportation works okay if you’re staying in the heart of SLC. Trax is our rail system. Linky for the bus and rail system, red line is probably what you’d be using. – http://bit.ly/1WjzgrJ

HOTEL
2. What’s the hotel situation like over the weekend of a game? How good is airbnb, vrbo, etc. in Salt Lake City?
Are there any great resort towns nearby to stay at for a day?

Should be no problems getting a hotel. Closest hotel to the stadium is University Park Marriott. VRBO available. Not sure about airbnb. Resort towns – Park City is not too far. https://www.visitparkcity.com/

FOOD
3. What are your favorite places to eat around Salt Lake during the college football season? How is the food in the stadium (anything a one-time visitor can’t leave the stadium without eating)?

Beerhive(http://bit.ly/1E7gE7y), Lumpy’s (http://www.lumpysbar.com/), Squatters(https://www.squatters.com), Red Iguana (http://www.rediguana.com/), Red Rock (http://redrockbrewing.com/), Ruth’s Diner (http://ruthsdiner.com/), Happy Sumo (https://www.happysumosushi.com/), R&R BBQ (http://randrbbq.net/). Food at the stadium is not the best imo.

TICKETS
4. What is the best option for visiting fans to buy game tickets? School Ticket office? StubHub? Local Classifieds?

KSL.com, FlashSeats.

OUTDOORS – Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking, Hiking, Paragliding: Big Cottonwood Canyon (stop by the Porcupin Pub at the mouth of the canyon (http://porcupinepub.com/), Little Cottonwood Canyon, Emigration Canyon, Milcreek Canyon (http://bit.ly/1XP8WVp). http://www.potmp.com/ http://www.snowbird.com/summer/activities/tram/

Events – http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/EventSearch#/

[Staples]

One other note about public transportation, your game ticket allows you free passage on game day. Definitely recommended instead of trying to find parking.

Other Attractions – I would say Temple Square would be a must see for any out of state visitor. Park City would be another place I would recommend visiting, plenty to do in both the summer and winter.

RedLine listed a lot of the good food options. A second from me on Red Iguana. Hires Big H is another place I would recommend on the simpler side. Sort of a standard diner type place. Stadium food is pretty standard, nothing spectacular. Then again, I’m a basic dog and a Coke guy so I’m okay with that.

Safety – as long as you’re not a BYU fan you should be okay. There is no where around the stadium that I would consider unsafe and I would say our fans are generally hospitable to neutral from what I’ve seen and heard from visiting fans.

[Tony (admin)]

First: welcome to the site.

Is a rental car necessary? How is the public transportation system/Uber in Salt Lake?

Some things can be far away but parking at the football games is a PITA. You actually can do fine by just using the train system (TRAX). You can take the train from the airport to downtown, where you presumably would stay. Lots of food and bars downtown in walking distance. You can then take the train up the the game and avoid parking hassles. And your ticket to the football game gives you a free ride on the train.

What’s the hotel situation like over the weekend of a game?

As a local, I never need to know this. My guess is the games will fill some of the hotel rooms but there should be plenty to go around unless there are other major events going on.

What are your favorite places to eat around Salt Lake during the college football season?

The best pizza in Utah is at The Pie, walking distance to the football stadium. Agree on post above, the Red Iguana is a must eat but be prepared to wait 1-2 hours. There are a lot of eating establishments downtown and up the train line to the stadium. On the higher end of things you could do the New Yorker or Market Street.

What is the best option for visiting fans to buy game tickets?

Probably KSL.com or stubhub etc. You can also get them from scalpers. The home games have been sold out for years.

Any general tailgating advice for a first-timer at a Utah game?

The main tailgating lot is southeast from the stadium. It’s a great time there. When you come, hit me up. I have a great spot and will provide you a frosty beverage.

Game day traditions

The band and cheerleaders perform at the tailgate lot I think about 2.5 hours before game time. Then the fans walk with the team, band and cheerleaders to the stadium.

Attractions

We have some of the most amazing mountains anywhere. You can drive 15 minutes and be on world class hiking or mountain biking trails. That’s where I would go.

Safety

Salt Lake is a pretty safe place. If you are downtown and on the train line between there and the stadium there are pretty much no worries.

Cheers.

[Author]

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