I live in Roanoke, VA and will be making the trip to see USM play at ODU. I'll be bringing the whole family (4) and staying Sat night. My son is a jr in high school, so I wanted to show him around the ODU campus in case he decides he might want to go to school there. What are some must see/do things while on campus on game day?

on campus...see the waterfront/sailing area...the fine arts area is newly expanded and varied (visual arts, theater, etc.)...the new dining facility is worth a look (8 international/themed all-you-can-eat stations)...before the game, tour the Kaufman 'mall' area in front off Webb (Student) Center, games and vendors...there are multiple lots of tailgating, check those out too

off campus...Nauticus, Town Point Park, the Taiwanese Pagoda and the Battleship Wisconsin are just 10 minutes downtown...plus the MacArthur Memorial (the General and his wife are buried there) which is next to the MacArthur Mall which is next to the St Paul's Church (oldest colonial building in Norfolk with cannonballs in the walls from the Revolutionary War), the Moses Myers House (post-colonial period) and the Willoughby-Baylor House (post-colonial period) are next door too. All these sites are just blocks or less from each other. Granby Street (in the middle of all these historical places) has two dozen local restaurants that are must dos. 4-5-6 Fish, Greenhouse Kitchen, Grilled Cheese Bistro, Field Guide, Lamia's Crepes, the 249, Freemason Abbey are among my favorites.

The NEON Arts district is also downtown and has the newest approaches to contemporary art.

Make it a whole day, and your son will want to be part of the #353 in the 757.

On campus: Take him to Kaufman mall where they have the public area with a dj etc. Wander through the tailgating lots too which is where the diehards and action will be. As a prospective student, I would want to see the residence hall quad and the rec center north of Webb Student Center (FYI, Webb Center is slated for demolition and replacement soon.) I'd walk through the Powhatan apartments and Whitehurst Hall to the riverfront on the west side of campus. Drive through the area behind the arena where the art village and some restaurants and the bookstore are. Of course, you'll see the stadium itself.

Off campus: Theres an area called Ghent that is pretty cool. Its several block radius around the intersection of 21st street, Colley Avenue and Colonial Avenue. Theres also the Chelsea area (near where I lived as an upperclassman) which has cool breweries, pubs and is starting to catch on. The downtown area is close as well, with a mall, art museum, battleship, concert venues etc. Thats a few miles away from the campus though.

(10-06-2016 12:06 PM)va-eagle Wrote:  I live in Roanoke, VA and will be making the trip to see USM play at ODU. I'll be bringing the whole family (4) and staying Sat night. My son is a jr in high school, so I wanted to show him around the ODU campus in case he decides he might want to go to school there. What are some must see/do things while on campus on game day?

Hey va-eagle, fellow Roanoker here. These other guys are better to ask than me as I moved from Hampton Roads over 10 years ago and don't get back to campus too much. Enough to know it's changed a bunch since since my days. Just wanted to say high. We live down in Boones Mill but I work in downtown Roanoke. Hit me up for a beer or burger sometime.

You can also visit ODU's main board for more replies

http://csnbbs.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=688

I'll post a more in-depth recommendation later when I have more time, but may I ask what potential degrees/areas your son is interested in? ODU has had some really nice buildings built recently that would be neat to look at if possible.

This happens enough that when you're done BT I'll take it and compile a sticky on our main board for visiting fans.

Norfolk is....



The Tide in Norfolk....



The Spirit of Norfolk Cruse ......



The Battleship Wisconsin at Nauticus ....



City Tour Norfolk



New Buildings and plans for ODU... http://www.odu.edu/life/buildings/buildings/projects

Pictures of ODU... https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pic...&FORM=IGRE

Downtown Norfolk...



The Virginia Beach Aquarium ...



The Virginia Beach Oceanfront ...



Atlantic Fun Park VA Beach...



ODU Picture Tour...

There's honestly a lot more I could talk about, but for now here's a good list of places you should consider checking out on campus while you're here.

On Campus:

First of all, gameday stuff. I would definitely recommend going through the tailgating lots if that's your thing. Best lots to go through, in my opinion, are the Blue lot, Silver lot and Black lot. I've also gone to the Green lot before, where everyone is very nice, might be a good one to hit if you walk around campus a bit. There are also some events going on at Kaufman Mall, and that's probably where USM will have an Alumni booth if they decide to bring one.



If you want to walk around campus a little bit the areas I'd suggest you hit would be:

Kaufman Mall: Take a picture with the lion fountain!. If your son is thinking of attending the university, make sure he DOESN'T step on the University Seal at the crossroads of the walkways in the middle of Kaufman Mall. If he does, he'll never graduate ODU (you can step on it once you graduate).





Perry Library: I know the Library may not be the coolest place for a highschooler to go, but I spent a TON of time here when I went to ODU. It's a really good resource that has tons of fantastic nooks and crannies to study in. I would not have graduated had it not been for #ClubPerry. The first floor was recently renovated to include group study spaces, a café, a computer lounge and general study space.



The Quad: I lived here for one year. Very nice dorms that are close walking distance to basically everything on Campus. It was usually a 5-7 minute walk to all of my classes when I lived there.



Monarch Rec Center: On the other side of that grass field as the Quad. Played a lot of pickup basketball here. Has a lot of exercise machines, yoga/flex rooms, racquetball courts, rock-climing wall, basketball/volleyball courts, indoor soccer court and soccer/grass field in the back. If you want a tour just walk up to the front desk and someone should be able to help you.




Broderick Dining Hall: It is literally brand new. So new I can't find good pictures of it online. I'm not certain if students can eat in there yet, but it should definitely be open by the time you head down. Don't know how good the food is going to be yet though.



Whitehurst Beach: I wouldn't put this at the top of my list. It's nice to have a beach on campus, but it's a bit out of the way from the center of campus, and is very very tiny. But! There is a great dock there and students can rent kayaks and whatnot from the Rec Center to go down the river.



The Monorail!!! If you are headed to Old Dominion, you were going to see it eventually. It was constructed as part of a Federal grant to research Maglev technologies. There were issues and since then the project has been scaled back to only the section of track by the Rec Center. Right now the University is trying to figure out what they want to do with it. To students, it is known as "The Most Expensive Umbrella Ever Made!"


University Village: I lived here for a few years. Very nice upperclassman university apartments. A lot of good restaurants are on Monarch Way like La Huradura, Raising Canes, and Mojo Bones. Right behind the Ted Constant Convocation Center.



Art Square: Not sure if this is the official name of the area or not, but at the end of Monarch Way is a bunch of brand new art buildings that have popped up as ODU continues to try and lift up its burgeoning art program.

Thanks for the info. What about game day parking for visitors, any advise? Also, after the USM-UTSA game performance, not too confident about leaving ODU with a W.

(10-08-2016 03:23 PM)va-eagle Wrote:  Thanks for the info. What about game day parking for visitors, any advise? Also, after the USM-UTSA game performance, not too confident about leaving ODU with a W.

There is free covered parking next to the TED and you have parking around the neighborhood too.