RE: NIU Game Day a Contrarian View
In thinking about it, I had season tickets to the Oregon Ducks for a couple of years back around 2007-8 time frame. Back the, 2 tickets were around $1200 per season. The drive from Portland (normally around 90 minutes) was 2-3 hours on game day even to arrive 2-3 hours early.(You would pray that the Ducks and the Beavers were not both at home on the same day) Tailgating lots cost more and free parking was hard to find unless you wanted to walk a mile or so to the stadium. No kidding we would arrive 5 hours early, walk about a mile to the stadium. They did have a fun building to eat at, buy some beer and listen to games on TV as well as a cover band. The experience once you got there at the stadium was great. (And it never rains at Autzen Stadium!) At least that is what the announcer always said. LOL I forgot to mention that getting home after a game was a nightmare as well.
We recently went to both games against Utah (my wife's an Alum) For Utah, the cost was higher, bad parking and expensive tickets. They did have a local train system that was very effective, so we didn't have to walk far. They had a nice stadium, but since we sat in the visitors section with the other NIU fans, it was not the best view.
Sorry this was rushed and I ran out of time to edit it today. Oh well.
At Huskie stadium, we liked the seating. Ticket prices were very reasonable and we actually stayed at the NIU hotel at the student center. That was affordable, comfortable and I would recommend it if you have a long drive back and forth to DeKalb. They give Alumni discounts, so make sure you mention that your an alum.
We checked out some of the new things like the Yard.... But wasn't too impressed.
When I went to school there 85-87 and afterwards into the 90's, my father and I bought season tickets and had a great time tail gating. A few years back now, we had friends that we met at the UNLV game in Vegas that we tail gated with at NIU for the Utah game, and at Iowa that same year. They had season tickets and a tailgating lot. That was very fun.
Thinking about the Utah game at NIU, it's too bad we lost that game, I thought we had a shot.
I recently went to a UNR (University of Nevada Reno) and learned that you have to arrive early for parking. You need to make a reservation for tail gating and ticket prices were (lowest price) $20 for very low, not good seats. They had very expensive beers but we had tailgated near the school ahead of time so I didn't buy anything there.
All in all, NIUs experience wasn't as bad as it sounds. But, that was well before Covid and IL's financial troubles. So, I have not been back since the Utah game at NIU. I am shooting to go to the Notre Dame game as it may only happen once in our life time. In hind sight, I am glad I did not make the trip to MI this year. That would have been a lot of money to see a good old fashioned but kicking.
(This post was last modified: 10-22-2021 02:27 PM by Splooie99.)
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