How many are making the trip to NW?

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noamfromm said:
Also there are no tolls -- that's why I take that route
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You can't avoid tolls on I-94 in Illinois unless you come down US 41, which is significantly slower (lots of lights). There are 2 tolls on 94, one at Waukegan, right over the Sconnie border, and the other at the Edens Spur. But I-90 has gotten much faster now since it's 3 lanes all the way from Madison into Chicago (avoid the 90/294 interchange by O'Hare if you're driving in on Friday, but a Saturday late morning drive shouldn't be a problem with traffic).
 

oak_street1981 said:
$10 tickets on Vivid seats, west (shade) side 20 yard line (near Gopher sections) at $10 plus $5 fee each was too much to pass up!

Staying in River North near Hancock Tower/ beach at curve on LSD, so the decision will be whether to go for the Red/ Purple line train ride ,or try something else. Car may remain in a pre-paid garage space (recommend SpotHero) until Sunday AM.

The 2:30 start makes it all work better, even a quick drive for anyone on the fence, for a Saturday drive down( take 94 to Milwaukee, avoid O'hare area, easier access to Northwestern, less congrestion off 94 south, worth the extra 15 miles in my view.
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I paid $6 plus $9 in fees on Seat Geek for endzone row 5. Figure we can sit where we want pretty much.
 

Yes, back in the old toll booth days, you had just one expensive toll stop (edit 2 stops) for I 94, versus many tedious, smaller $ stops to pay on I 90. I took US 41 with a few stoplights to to avoid the 94 tollway by choice or by accident before from Glencoe/ Northbrook? or so north to the Wisconsin border. It probably was a few miles shorter, but not a faster way to save $5 or $6.

FYI, it is open tolls only now so either you can sign up ahead of time, enter your plate number and add some funds, or you will get a bill with a small service fee later. Otherwise you can get a transponder ahead of time via mail, with a paid deposit and then add funds, and the toll fee is dropped somewhat. I signed up a few months ago and it took three minutes, and it worked. The transponder arrived 15 days later, and I'll try it out this week.

As screwed up as the State of Illinois can be at times, they did a decent job with this system. If Minnesota has E-Z pass, that apparently works on the I.T.

Home - Illinois Tollway

www.illinoistollway.com www.illinoistollway.com
 

WindyCityGopher said:
You can't avoid tolls on I-94 in Illinois unless you come down US 41, which is significantly slower (lots of lights). There are 2 tolls on 94, one at Waukegan, right over the Sconnie border, and the other at the Edens Spur. But I-90 has gotten much faster now since it's 3 lanes all the way from Madison into Chicago (avoid the 90/294 interchange by O'Hare if you're driving in on Friday, but a Saturday late morning drive shouldn't be a problem with traffic).
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You're right, I do take US41
 

I'll be curious to see which sidelines the teams are on. I think Fitzgerald started moving to the east side to be in the sun for the cooler weather games a few years back.

From 2019 my recollection is that the visitor seats are in the first two sections to the north by the NW tower. There seemed to be a pocket of fans (some seemed like relatives of players, wearing matching jerseys, multigenerational) on the NE corner as well.

I moved around quite a bit, and went up to the unusual looking second deck later in the game, and the view from up there was pretty good, with only a few angry longtime Northwestern fans around to grouse about the outcome. Those towers, like the towers at Illinois do have a function, they house large stairways to move fans. They look pretty interesting up close, though.

I can see why NU might consider keeping the west side and bulldozing everything else in a couple of years when they start spending Pat Ryan's hundreds of millions to create a much improved stadium. I would not be surprised if they knocked it all down and spent 2 years at Soldier Field/Wrigley during construction, since they have space and red tape challenges.
 



oak_street1981 said:
Have you been to The Other Side Bar on 2434 North Clark Street in recent years? Is it still A Gopher Team Bar? It looks like the Red Line Fullerton station is several blocks to the west. I think I drove by post game in 2019 and saw some Maroon clad fans outside on the way back to the crappy, dumpy overpriced Hotel Lincoln.

Maybe I'll check it out post game, then grab a red hot or polish at the Wiener Circle just up the road at 2622 Clark.

www.theothersidebar.com

The Other Side Bar | Lincoln Park Chill Neighborhood Hangout

Darts. Games. Trivia. Great specials. Cool staff. Chicago's Official home for Minnesota Gophers Alumni. Ski-U-Mah!
www.theothersidebar.com www.theothersidebar.com
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Yes, it is. I was there for the game the past couple weeks.
 

fmlizard said:
I live in Lincoln Park, Chicago. I'm moving to Florida so this may be my last Purple Line battle. Good to see a 2:30 kick for the first time since I moved here 13 years ago.

If anyone wants to get together and tailgate or find a bar and watch the early games, I'm up for it.
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We are going to "Mustard's Last Stand" (across the street from the stadium) before the game but don't know if they have a TV there or not. I'd love to watch part of the Wisc. vs Iowa game. After the game, we're heading to Bat 17 Pub. We've always had a great time in Evanston. Hope to see you there. Go Gophers!
 

I'll be there with my group of 4. My big question is whether there's any place at all near the stadium to have a few, eat lunch, and watch earlier games before kick? I've always heard that's a no, but it's never really mattered to me as I've typically been rushing into town for an 11 am kick.
 



I'd recommend Bat 17 for pregame (and postgame actually). It's a fun sports bar, TV's, food/breakfast options, good location.

Celtic Knot is another good spot in downtown Evanston
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
I'd recommend Bat 17 for pregame (and postgame actually). It's a fun sports bar, TV's, food/breakfast options, good location.

Celtic Knot is another good spot in downtown Evanston
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Bluestone on Central Ave. a few blocks from Ryan Field is also a good place for food and drink with TVs, although lines on game days can be long.
 

go4rob said:
We are going to "Mustard's Last Stand" (across the street from the stadium) before the game but don't know if they have a TV there or not. I'd love to watch part of the Wisc. vs Iowa game. After the game, we're heading to Bat 17 Pub. We've always had a great time in Evanston. Hope to see you there. Go Gophers!
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Mustard's has maybe 2 chairs in it and no TV. It's mostly a walk-up place with some outdoor tables, but nothing inside like a sports bar setup.
 




Son and I are coming down from Milwaukee.
Any recommendations on where to park? Would luv to be close to other Gophers.
 

oak_street1981 said:
$10 tickets on Vivid seats, west (shade) side 20 yard line (near Gopher sections) at $10 plus $5 fee each was too much to pass up!

Staying in River North near Hancock Tower/ beach at curve on LSD, so the decision will be whether to go for the Red/ Purple line train ride ,or try something else. Car may remain in a pre-paid garage space (recommend SpotHero) until Sunday AM.

The 2:30 start makes it all work better, even a quick drive for anyone on the fence, for a Saturday drive down( take 94 to Milwaukee, avoid O'hare area, easier access to Northwestern, less congrestion off 94 south, worth the extra 15 miles in my view.
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100% the extra 15 miles going this way is worth staying away from the Congestion and the tolls! I endorse this post.
 

I know tickets are really easy to get everywhere in the stadium, but I can’t find tickets in the designated away section. Anyone have a single they are selling?
 

I was in Chicago last weekend visiting colleges with my daughter. Otherwise I would seriously consider a day trip. I was playing around on Priceline and put together a package leaving MSP at 7:40 am and returning at 10:50 pm. You would be in Chicago from 9:12 am to 9:15 pm. Just about perfect. And it was only $161. So tempting.
 


HopHead said:
I was in Chicago last weekend visiting colleges with my daughter. Otherwise I would seriously consider a day trip. I was playing around on Priceline and put together a package leaving MSP at 7:40 am and returning at 10:50 pm. You would be in Chicago from 9:12 am to 9:15 pm. Just about perfect. And it was only $161. So tempting.
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That’s what I’m doing although I’m leaving on United at 6:30 am. If you do go I’d split transportation with you.
 
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Zeppelin Gopher said:
I'd recommend Bat 17 for pregame (and postgame actually). It's a fun sports bar, TV's, food/breakfast options, good location.

Celtic Knot is another good spot in downtown Evanston
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Sweet, I really appreciate these recs! Looks like the gameday shuttles pick up downtown there so that should work nicely. What's the parking situation like around those places?
 


1st timer to a Northwestern game. our group of 7 including 3 smaller kids are staying in Skokie. Will be mostly travelling between Chicago and Evanston this weekend for food and entertainment.

W will be driving, but what is the recommended travel between Skokie, Chicago an Evanston? debating when to drive, take an Uber, or take the purple line to Ryan Field on gameday. thoughts?
 

The official 'Sota Social will be at The Other Side Bar at 5:30 on Friday: https://www.umnalumni.org/s/1867/18...gid=3084&gid=2&cid=10509&ecid=10509&post_id=0

I no longer live in Chicago, but my friend and I set up the game watches with The Other Side many years ago and they've been a fantastic partner. If you're looking for an establishment in Chicago for pre or post game on Saturday, pay them a visit.

We owe them as much business as possible as most bars in Chicago would rather throw up a Wisconsin or Iowa flag and not doing any work at drawing in smaller fanbases.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
Bluestone on Central Ave. a few blocks from Ryan Field is also a good place for food and drink with TVs, although lines on game days can be long.
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I think we went there after stopping into Ten Mile House. Both walking distance from stadium.
 



FYI, Chicago Gophers events for Northwestern weekend:

Big weekend this weekend as the Gophers take on Northwestern at Ryan Field. We have a few events planned for both local Gophers as well as folks who have traveled to the Windy City for the game. Information on all events Friday and Saturday can be found below:

Friday (1 event)


Saturday (2 events)

  • Starting at noon (12pm CT) at Five and Dime (1026 Davis St.) in Evanston. Come get ready to watch the Gophers take on the Wildcats. Game starts at 2:30pm at Ryan field.
  • Finally, for folks not attending the game at Ryan Field, we will as always have a game watch at the Other Side Bar at 2:30pm CT.
 

HopHead said:
I was in Chicago last weekend visiting colleges with my daughter. Otherwise I would seriously consider a day trip. I was playing around on Priceline and put together a package leaving MSP at 7:40 am and returning at 10:50 pm. You would be in Chicago from 9:12 am to 9:15 pm. Just about perfect. And it was only $161. So tempting.
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Those are the flights we are on.
 

...and now we are not going. The boy tested positive for Covid this evening. He knew we were going to the Gopher game, but I never told him we were flying to Chicago, so he's not quite as disappointed as he otherwise would have been. Still, this just sucks.
 

Chilledball said:
I think there may be more gopher fans than northwester fans lol
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Keep showing everyone that we travel. I live in Boulder and I couldn't believe how many gopher fans were here. My CU friends noticed and couldn't believe it.
 

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