Some info for those coming to Indy

[Mr. Carfino]

First, regarding tickets, if you got denied by the UI, I would highly recommend NOT buying anything yet. I know it’s hard, but as it is when the Final Four is here, you should be able to find tickets in downtown Indy the day of the game for good prices. Stubhub typically has a temporary ticket office set up in the lobby of one of the hotels for tickets purchased that day. I bought tickets to the Iowa-NW BB game about an hour before the game, walked in to the hotel, and the tickets were in hand within 5 minutes. For whatever reason, MSU doesn’t travel well (at least not like OSU) so prices should drop drastically towards the game time. Be patient.

If you’re looking for a hotel, unless you’re prepared to spend $300-400 on one right downtown, the north suburbs (Carmel, Fishers) are a good option, as is around the airport. Both of these locations would only be a $15 Uber ride to downtown. The good thing is once you’re downtown, you can walk everywhere. You could literally walk from one side of downtown Indianapolis to the other in 20 minutes.

As for restaurants, there are a lot of good options. Unless you’ve already got reservations to St. Elmo, it’s probably not even worth trying. It’s a small restaurant and is usually booked well ahead of these events. I personally like Palamino, The Oceanaire, and Fogo de Ciao if I’m going upscale. There is an authentic Italian restaurant just south of Downtown called Iaria’s that is really excellent. It’s like something out of Goodfellas and it is really good. http://www.iariasrestaurant.com/.

If you’re looking for bars, there are really 3 areas of town that all have a different feel. The bars right downtown are typically chains, but there are a lot of fun places. Howl at the Moon, Dick’s Last Resort, Rock Bottom Brewery, Scotty's Brewhouse, etc. The second area is called Broad Ripple, and it’s about 61st & College. This is somewhat close to Butler University and has a college vibe. Reminds me a lot of the Ped Mall. The 3rd area is Mass Ave, and it’s more of a hipster scene http://discovermassave.com/ Bakersfield is a really good restaurant there. It’s authentic Mexican food. Yat’s is also great if you like Cajun. Also a lot of places on Mass Ave if you like craft beer (looking at you Morehouse).

Hope you guys enjoy your trip here. It’s a great downtown area and a lot of fun. When the Hawks play in the BTT for basketball it is a very nice Hawk fan showing. I can’t even imagine what it will be like next weekend.

Go Hawks!!!

 

[artradley]

First, regarding tickets, if you got denied by the UI, I would highly recommend NOT buying anything yet. I know it’s hard, but as it is when the Final Four is here, you should be able to find tickets in downtown Indy the day of the game for good prices. Stubhub typically has a temporary ticket office set up in the lobby of one of the hotels for tickets purchased that day. I bought tickets to the Iowa-NW BB game about an hour before the game, walked in to the hotel, and the tickets were in hand within 5 minutes. For whatever reason, MSU doesn’t travel well (at least not like OSU) so prices should drop drastically towards the game time. Be patient.

If you’re looking for a hotel, unless you’re prepared to spend $300-400 on one right downtown, the north suburbs (Carmel, Fishers) are a good option, as is around the airport. Both of these locations would only be a $15 Uber ride to downtown. The good thing is once you’re downtown, you can walk everywhere. You could literally walk from one side of downtown Indianapolis to the other in 20 minutes.

As for restaurants, there are a lot of good options. Unless you’ve already got reservations to St. Elmo, it’s probably not even worth trying. It’s a small restaurant and is usually booked well ahead of these events. I personally like Palamino, The Oceanaire, and Fogo de Ciao if I’m going upscale. There is an authentic Italian restaurant just south of Downtown called Iaria’s that is really excellent. It’s like something out of Goodfellas and it is really good. http://www.iariasrestaurant.com/.

If you’re looking for bars, there are really 3 areas of town that all have a different feel. The bars right downtown are typically chains, but there are a lot of fun places. Howl at the Moon, Dick’s Last Resort, Rock Bottom Brewery, Scotty's Brewhouse, etc. The second area is called Broad Ripple, and it’s about 61st & College. This is somewhat close to Butler University and has a college vibe. Reminds me a lot of the Ped Mall. The 3rd area is Mass Ave, and it’s more of a hipster scene http://discovermassave.com/ Bakersfield is a really good restaurant there. It’s authentic Mexican food. Yat’s is also great if you like Cajun. Also a lot of places on Mass Ave if you like craft beer (looking at you Morehouse).

Hope you guys enjoy your trip here. It’s a great downtown area and a lot of fun. When the Hawks play in the BTT for basketball it is a very nice Hawk fan showing. I can’t even imagine what it will be like next weekend.

Go Hawks!!!

What time is the game?

 

[markfromj]

8:00 pm EST.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

St. Elmo is that tough? Was going to try for Friday

 

[artradley]

8:00 pm EST.

Thx. Is Indy Eastern time?

 

[kluegs17]

First, regarding tickets, if you got denied by the UI, I would highly recommend NOT buying anything yet. I know it’s hard, but as it is when the Final Four is here, you should be able to find tickets in downtown Indy the day of the game for good prices. Stubhub typically has a temporary ticket office set up in the lobby of one of the hotels for tickets purchased that day. I bought tickets to the Iowa-NW BB game about an hour before the game, walked in to the hotel, and the tickets were in hand within 5 minutes. For whatever reason, MSU doesn’t travel well (at least not like OSU) so prices should drop drastically towards the game time. Be patient.

If you’re looking for a hotel, unless you’re prepared to spend $300-400 on one right downtown, the north suburbs (Carmel, Fishers) are a good option, as is around the airport. Both of these locations would only be a $15 Uber ride to downtown. The good thing is once you’re downtown, you can walk everywhere. You could literally walk from one side of downtown Indianapolis to the other in 20 minutes.

As for restaurants, there are a lot of good options. Unless you’ve already got reservations to St. Elmo, it’s probably not even worth trying. It’s a small restaurant and is usually booked well ahead of these events. I personally like Palamino, The Oceanaire, and Fogo de Ciao if I’m going upscale. There is an authentic Italian restaurant just south of Downtown called Iaria’s that is really excellent. It’s like something out of Goodfellas and it is really good. http://www.iariasrestaurant.com/.

If you’re looking for bars, there are really 3 areas of town that all have a different feel. The bars right downtown are typically chains, but there are a lot of fun places. Howl at the Moon, Dick’s Last Resort, Rock Bottom Brewery, Scotty's Brewhouse, etc. The second area is called Broad Ripple, and it’s about 61st & College. This is somewhat close to Butler University and has a college vibe. Reminds me a lot of the Ped Mall. The 3rd area is Mass Ave, and it’s more of a hipster scene http://discovermassave.com/ Bakersfield is a really good restaurant there. It’s authentic Mexican food. Yat’s is also great if you like Cajun. Also a lot of places on Mass Ave if you like craft beer (looking at you Morehouse).

Hope you guys enjoy your trip here. It’s a great downtown area and a lot of fun. When the Hawks play in the BTT for basketball it is a very nice Hawk fan showing. I can’t even imagine what it will be like next weekend.

Go Hawks!!!

"MSU doesn't travel well." Seriously? Having been to TWO other Big Ten Championship games in which MSU has played, I can tell you there will be plenty of green in Indy should we be fortunate enough to beat PSU and win the East.

 

[WARHAWK]

Thx. Is Indy Eastern time?

Yes, Indy is on Eastern Time.

 

[ANYCHawk]

St. Elmo is that tough?

Not if your a man in motion.

 

[Arizona_Hawks]

"MSU doesn't travel well." Seriously? Having been to TWO other Big Ten Championship games in which MSU has played, I can tell you there will be plenty of green in Indy should we be fortunate enough to beat PSU and win the East.

Son, sorry but our standards for traveling are a little different then your standards for travel. Sorry but...... wrong...

 

[DavenportHawk8]

First, regarding tickets, if you got denied by the UI, I would highly recommend NOT buying anything yet. I know it’s hard, but as it is when the Final Four is here, you should be able to find tickets in downtown Indy the day of the game for good prices. Stubhub typically has a temporary ticket office set up in the lobby of one of the hotels for tickets purchased that day. I bought tickets to the Iowa-NW BB game about an hour before the game, walked in to the hotel, and the tickets were in hand within 5 minutes. For whatever reason, MSU doesn’t travel well (at least not like OSU) so prices should drop drastically towards the game time. Be patient.

If you’re looking for a hotel, unless you’re prepared to spend $300-400 on one right downtown, the north suburbs (Carmel, Fishers) are a good option, as is around the airport. Both of these locations would only be a $15 Uber ride to downtown. The good thing is once you’re downtown, you can walk everywhere. You could literally walk from one side of downtown Indianapolis to the other in 20 minutes.

As for restaurants, there are a lot of good options. Unless you’ve already got reservations to St. Elmo, it’s probably not even worth trying. It’s a small restaurant and is usually booked well ahead of these events. I personally like Palamino, The Oceanaire, and Fogo de Ciao if I’m going upscale. There is an authentic Italian restaurant just south of Downtown called Iaria’s that is really excellent. It’s like something out of Goodfellas and it is really good. http://www.iariasrestaurant.com/.

If you’re looking for bars, there are really 3 areas of town that all have a different feel. The bars right downtown are typically chains, but there are a lot of fun places. Howl at the Moon, Dick’s Last Resort, Rock Bottom Brewery, Scotty's Brewhouse, etc. The second area is called Broad Ripple, and it’s about 61st & College. This is somewhat close to Butler University and has a college vibe. Reminds me a lot of the Ped Mall. The 3rd area is Mass Ave, and it’s more of a hipster scene http://discovermassave.com/ Bakersfield is a really good restaurant there. It’s authentic Mexican food. Yat’s is also great if you like Cajun. Also a lot of places on Mass Ave if you like craft beer (looking at you Morehouse).

Hope you guys enjoy your trip here. It’s a great downtown area and a lot of fun. When the Hawks play in the BTT for basketball it is a very nice Hawk fan showing. I can’t even imagine what it will be like next weekend.

Go Hawks!!!

I agree, but I think there will be tickets available, but if you want to sit in the Iowa section of the stadium you are going to have to buy fast. I was looking at tickets the other day in some of the "upper" sections and today they are all gone or dwindled down to a few postings. If you want to sit on the "other side" of the stadium then I think you will find plenty of tickets available for cheap.

I agree that the downtown area is very nice and fun. Broad ripple district is cool, not as many bars, but a cool college scene and younger adult scene. I believe they have a "brothers" bar there? I thought I saw that on google maps.

Indy should be fun.

 

[doughawk]

Mr Carfino, We are staying at the Hyatt Regency downtown and have reservations at St Elmo Fri. night. Where do you recommend we drink in that area and do you have a good lunch recommendation for Sat. ? Thanks.

 

[Herky__02]

I would like to add Fountain Square, south of downtown is a fun place to hangout although it has a hipster vibe. The childrens musuem is the largest in the world and very nice if you are taking kids. My favorite restaurants that are not upscale downtown are Punch Burger and King David's (hot dogs).

 

[kluegs17]

Son, sorry but our standards for traveling are a little different then your standards for travel. Sorry but...... wrong...

Considering your team hasn't had any games of significance for fans to travel to in recent memory, I'm sure the turnout in Indy will be great...

 

[Head Hawk]

Considering your team hasn't had any games of significance for fans to travel to in recent memory, I'm sure the turnout in Indy will be great...

We travel everywhere, whether the game is important or not.

The fact that you only travel to "important" games really says something about your fanbase.

 

[icu81222]

.

 

[Herkmeister]

I'm eating every meal at White Castle. Gaawwwddddddd I love them sliders!!!!!

 

[icu81222]

I'm eating every meal at White Castle. Gaawwwddddddd I love them sliders!!!!!

Me too but I plan to save a step and just dump them directly in the toilet.

Efficiency.

 

[Herkmeister]

Dude, do what I'm doing......... I'm wearing depends and sitting on the MSU side!!!! (I'm just doing what I can.)

 

[DavenportHawk8]

Give me the top 5 bars near the stadium?

Also give me a list of "dive" bars as well. Im just looking somewhere I can get a drink and its a hole in the wall. I could care less about the tourist traps "tilted kilts & hooters." I want a dive bar where I can get a good buzz going before the game.

 

[schneeb5]

How did you travel to your bowl game last year vs. Tennessee? Looked like there was a whopping total of about 5K Iowa fans there.

MSU Travels just fine and I think you will be surprised at how many MSU fans are in Indy...but go ahead and keep telling yourselves that

 

[Hawked]

How did you travel to your bowl game last year vs. Tennessee? Looked like there was a whopping total of about 5K Iowa fans there.

MSU Travels just fine and I think you will be surprised at how many MSU fans are in Indy...but go ahead and keep telling yourselves that

Is that why it takes Iowa being in the championship game for it to be a sell out? Just wondering because I am sure you know.

 

[Pepperman]

How did you travel to your bowl game last year vs. Tennessee? Looked like there was a whopping total of about 5K Iowa fans there.

MSU Travels just fine and I think you will be surprised at how many MSU fans are in Indy...but go ahead and keep telling yourselves that

Good, great even... but how is your enrollment looking?

 

[Scherrman]

How did you travel to your bowl game last year vs. Tennessee? Looked like there was a whopping total of about 5K Iowa fans there.

MSU Travels just fine and I think you will be surprised at how many MSU fans are in Indy...but go ahead and keep telling yourselves that

Why are you replying to this thread?

 

[schneeb5]

The game was a sellout before Iowa made it. OSU fans buy up 80% of the open market tickets before the season. Good grief you guys act like your fanbase is god's gift to college football and are the only ones who would "Travel Well" to a big game. You might have a few thousand more fans there this weekend but you act like it is going to be a home game.

MSU had way more fans than Wisconsin back in 2011 and I expect a similar turnout this year. It will probably be 37K Iowa Fans to 30K MSU fans. Big whoop.

I also see that you had your first and only home sellout against Minnesota in how many years?

 

[Scherrman]

The game was a sellout before Iowa made it. OSU fans buy up 80% of the open market tickets before the season. Good grief you guys act like your fanbase is god's gift to college football and are the only ones who would "Travel Well" to a big game. You might have a few thousand more fans there this weekend but you act like it is going to be a home game.

MSU had way more fans than Wisconsin back in 2011 and I expect a similar turnout this year. It will probably be 37K Iowa Fans to 30K MSU fans. Big whoop.

I also see that you had your first and only home sellout against Minnesota in how many years?

Technically Iowa is the Home team, so we have that going for us.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

The game was a sellout before Iowa made it. OSU fans buy up 80% of the open market tickets before the season. Good grief you guys act like your fanbase is god's gift to college football and are the only ones who would "Travel Well" to a big game. You might have a few thousand more fans there this weekend but you act like it is going to be a home game.

MSU had way more fans than Wisconsin back in 2011 and I expect a similar turnout this year. It will probably be 37K Iowa Fans to 30K MSU fans. Big whoop.

I also see that you had your first and only home sellout against Minnesota in how many years?

MSU season tickets 308 for general public (schedule Oregon, PSU, Indiana, Air Force)
Iowa season tickets 395 for general public (schedule Il state, Maryland, Minnesota)

Not fair to compare home schedules, Iowa was horrible this year.

So our tickets cost more and plus we were coming off a 7-6 season where we blew the lead in the last 3 games (not bowl game). The moral for the football program was at an all time low. Im not here to get into a pissing match, but just know that majority of the people who didn't renew this year was because they were upset with KF and the coaches. They wanted a change and now I am guessing 99% of those people have changed their minds.

 

[OC_Hawk]

The game was a sellout before Iowa made it. OSU fans buy up 80% of the open market tickets before the season. Good grief you guys act like your fanbase is god's gift to college football and are the only ones who would "Travel Well" to a big game. You might have a few thousand more fans there this weekend but you act like it is going to be a home game.

OSU and MSU have a combined five appearances in the four years the game has been held; yet not a single game has sold out until this year...

I also see that you had your first and only home sellout against Minnesota in how many years?

I was willing to accept you are one to regularly talk about stuff you have no idea about with your made up stats about open market ticket sales, but have to respond to this stupid statement. Ticket sales were down severely in 2015. But to imply it has been a long time since Iowa has sold out a game against Minnesota is clearly talking out of your ass. The last time Iowa/Minnesota sold out was the last time they played the game in Iowa City: 9/29/2012 (attendance 70,585). Before that, you have to go all the way back to the last time before they played the game in Iowa City in 2009.

Either you are a troll (and a pretty bad one at that) or an idiot incapable of researching any of the drivel you spew. I'll put my money on being both.

 

[schneeb5]

OSU and MSU have a combined five appearances in the four years the game has been held; yet not a single game has sold out until this year...



I was willing to accept you are one to regularly talk about stuff you have no idea about with your made up stats about open market ticket sales, but have to respond to this stupid statement. Ticket sales were down severely in 2015. But to imply it has been a long time since Iowa has sold out a game against Minnesota is clearly talking out of your ass. The last time Iowa/Minnesota sold out was the last time they played the game in Iowa City: 9/29/2012 (attendance 70,585). Before that, you have to go all the way back to the last time before they played the game in Iowa City in 2009.

Either you are a troll (and a pretty bad one at that) or an idiot incapable of researching any of the drivel you spew. I'll put my money on being both.

I wasn't talking about Minnesota specifically. Aside from the Minny game, when was the last time you sold out a home game? Just curious...

With regards to season ticket cost - you don't know what you are talking about. All season tickets are not $308 each. It is all dependent on where the tickets are and what the seat licenses are. There are different levels but i'll defer to you on MSU season ticket prices.

I was at the MSU / OSU B1G Championship game and it was packed to the gills. Tickets were harder to get for that one than this one so I am not sure where you are seeing that it was not sold out. But whatever - you win. Iowa will have 65K fans there. Congrats.

 

[OC_Hawk]

I wasn't talking about Minnesota specifically. Aside from the Minny game, when was the last time you sold out a home game? Just curious...

Sorry if I don't feel like being your personal Google for today. Of course, I don't think you're really all that curious.
I'm not entirely sure what point it is you are even trying to make. As far as I can tell, MSU sold out only Oregon & Central Michigan this year. Going to have a superiority complex about that? I already conceded that ticket sales were down dramatically in 2015. They knew that was going to be the case way back in July.

With regards to season ticket cost - you don't know what you are talking about. All season tickets are not $308 each. It is all dependent on where the tickets are and what the seat licenses are. There are different levels but i'll defer to you on MSU season ticket prices.

You're on fire. As soon as you can grasp the concept that you are carrying on a conversation with multiple people I'll start to take you seriously.

I was at the MSU / OSU B1G Championship game and it was packed to the gills. Tickets were harder to get for that one than this one so I am not sure where you are seeing that it was not sold out. But whatever - you win. Iowa will have 65K fans there. Congrats.

Maybe every article I've read that stated the "event that has never sold out" and the posted attendance of 66,002 is wrong. You were there and the amount of elbow room you had should have been a pretty good indicator. But whatever - you win.

 

[Packer54]

First, regarding tickets, if you got denied by the UI, I would highly recommend NOT buying anything yet. I know it’s hard, but as it is when the Final Four is here, you should be able to find tickets in downtown Indy the day of the game for good prices. Stubhub typically has a temporary ticket office set up in the lobby of one of the hotels for tickets purchased that day. I bought tickets to the Iowa-NW BB game about an hour before the game, walked in to the hotel, and the tickets were in hand within 5 minutes. For whatever reason, MSU doesn’t travel well (at least not like OSU) so prices should drop drastically towards the game time. Be patient.

If you’re looking for a hotel, unless you’re prepared to spend $300-400 on one right downtown, the north suburbs (Carmel, Fishers) are a good option, as is around the airport. Both of these locations would only be a $15 Uber ride to downtown. The good thing is once you’re downtown, you can walk everywhere. You could literally walk from one side of downtown Indianapolis to the other in 20 minutes.

As for restaurants, there are a lot of good options. Unless you’ve already got reservations to St. Elmo, it’s probably not even worth trying. It’s a small restaurant and is usually booked well ahead of these events. I personally like Palamino, The Oceanaire, and Fogo de Ciao if I’m going upscale. There is an authentic Italian restaurant just south of Downtown called Iaria’s that is really excellent. It’s like something out of Goodfellas and it is really good. http://www.iariasrestaurant.com/.

If you’re looking for bars, there are really 3 areas of town that all have a different feel. The bars right downtown are typically chains, but there are a lot of fun places. Howl at the Moon, Dick’s Last Resort, Rock Bottom Brewery, Scotty's Brewhouse, etc. The second area is called Broad Ripple, and it’s about 61st & College. This is somewhat close to Butler University and has a college vibe. Reminds me a lot of the Ped Mall. The 3rd area is Mass Ave, and it’s more of a hipster scene http://discovermassave.com/ Bakersfield is a really good restaurant there. It’s authentic Mexican food. Yat’s is also great if you like Cajun. Also a lot of places on Mass Ave if you like craft beer (looking at you Morehouse).

Hope you guys enjoy your trip here. It’s a great downtown area and a lot of fun. When the Hawks play in the BTT for basketball it is a very nice Hawk fan showing. I can’t even imagine what it will be like next weekend.

Go Hawks!!!

Thanks Carfino! Is Whistle Stop still a good place for a beer??