25
August
2010
|
18:00 PM
America/New_York

Ohio State 2010 Football Season

Football Game Day Web Page
Fan safety and a family-friendly atmosphere are the goals of a number of policies that affect the Ohio State football game-day experience. The Football Game Day web page www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com features more information than ever for Buckeye fans and visitors. The site outlines parking policies, stadium policies, fan information, ADA and medical services, and a schedule of events associated with the game. Updated information is available throughout the season.

Ohio Stadium Policies
Ohio Stadium opens two hours prior to kickoff.

Fans are encouraged to travel light. Bags larger than 14”x14”x 4” are prohibited and to avoid long lines at gate entrances, template stations will be located around the stadium so that fans can measure their own bags. All bags, small purses and containers are subject to search. Cameras with lens greater than 100 mm are prohibited.

Guests are also urged to arrive at their seats well in advance of kickoff and should have their correct ticket stubs with them and available throughout the game to assist in seat verification and entry into each aisle or section.

*To gain admission into the stadium, everyone regardless of age, is required to have a ticket or credential.
•Security personnel located outside each gate will assist with crowd control, check the identification of discounted student or faculty/staff ticketholders, and look for prohibited items.
*Items prohibited in Ohio Stadium include: alcohol, baby strollers, bags (larger than 14” x 14”), balls, banners, beverages, cameras (still) with lens greater than 100mm (also monopods, dual pods and tripods), chair-back seats, containers (cans, bottles, ice chests, thermoses), fireworks, flags, food, frisbees, illegal drugs, noisemakers, signs, televisions and video recording equipment, and weapons (knives, irritants, firearms). For a complete list of items visit the Football Game Day website.
*Umbrellas can be taken inside the stadium for use before and after the game.
*Guests that provide a doctor’s note demonstrating a specific need for a chair-back seat should enter the stadium at Gates 13, 16, 23 or 26. Fans with special health or medical needs can also enter through Gates 13, 16, 23 or 26.

Disability Seating/Services

Reserved seating for people in wheelchairs is located in AA Deck, D deck, and South Stands. Individuals who need wheelchair accessible or disability seating should contact the Athletics Ticket Office at (614) 292-2624, at least two weeks prior to a game. Every effort is made to find suitable seating for individuals requiring disability seating.

Four elevators, located on the west side of Ohio Stadium between gates 17-23, provide access to disability seating on D deck. (Guests will need a green sticker on their game ticket to access the elevator). Elevators located near sections 7 and 10 provide assistance for fans with seats in B and C decks. One elevator, located in South Stadium near Section 39, only provides access to seats in the South Stands.

The University will continue to offer closed captioning on the main, south scoreboard as well as the north scoreboard. In addition, at least one-half of the television monitors in the concourse will feature closed captioning of television broadcasts.

Smoking
Smoking is prohibited within the gates of Ohio Stadium.

Tickets
Ohio Stadium has a seating capacity of 102,329 for home football games and provides more student tickets for football than any other school in the nation (30,000). As in past years, tickets for the 2010 season are sold out. Check the Athletics Ticket Office website for information on tickets that may become available.

Only tickets purchased or received from the Athletics Ticket Office, Ticketmaster or www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com are guaranteed valid. Tickets purchased elsewhere could be counterfeit, stolen, or otherwise void, and will receive an invalid scan at the gates. Guests with an invalid ticket scan will be turned away at the gate.

Discounted tickets
Fans using discounted student and faculty/staff tickets must show a valid OSU ID (BuckID) along with their ticket, prior to entering Ohio Stadium.
*Student season ticket holders (valid beginning Sept. 2 vs. Marshall) must present a valid BuckID at the gate.
*Faculty/staff tickets are printed on distinctive “faculty/staff ticket stock” that identifies the ticket as requiring a current OSU ID for admittance. One valid OSU ID will get two faculty/staff season ticket holders into a game.
*Students and faculty/staff ticket holders must upgrade to a full price public ticket to allow the general public use of their tickets. The Ohio State ticket holder must come to the ticket office to authorize the exchange and pay the difference in the ticket price and any service charges that apply.
*The deadline for ticket upgrades is one day prior to the game.

Ticket Exchange/Forwarding Options
Fans unable to attend a game have two options available through their online ticket account. The Buckeye TicketExchange allows season ticket holders to post their tickets for sale on the Ohio State Ticketing website, and is the only resale service that guarantees the buyer will receive valid tickets to a game. The second option, Ticket Forwarding, allows ticket holders to electronically forward tickets to guests via email. Associated fees apply for each service. For more information, fans can log on to www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com and select the “Tickets” link.

Tailgating and other traditions
Tailgating at Buckeye football games is a long-standing tradition. Fan behavior before, during and after each game reflects on the university and the city. Fans should conduct themselves in a manner that allows everyone to enjoy the game in a safe, family-friendly atmosphere.

*Winning teams and great fans continue to drive the efforts of the student-led Ohio State Sportsmanship Council, which launched its “Best Fans in the Land” campaign five years ago. During the football campaign, students will greet visiting fans before each home game and encourage Ohio State fans to extend a courteous welcome to visitors. For additional information on the 2010 campaign, fans may visit http://bestfans.osu.edu/

*The Ohio State Marching Band Skull Session starts two hours before kickoff of every home football game. Held in St. John Arena, the skull session is a popular concert/pep rally, with more than 10,000 fans in attendance. The event is free, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees should anticipate security checkpoints at the arena before entering. Doors open four hours prior to kickoff.

*Fans are expected to obey all state and local laws.

*As in past years, law enforcement agencies will continue to enforce state laws regarding the use and possession of alcohol. A number of law enforcement authorities will issue citations or make arrests for violations of laws prohibiting open containers of alcohol in public areas, including university parking lots and garages. Persons engaging in underage drinking, public indecency, disorderly conduct and other violations are subject to arrest.

*In accordance with state and local fire codes, grilling is prohibited inside parking garages and garage rooftops. Grills (propane or charcoal) can be used on surface parking lots.

*Fire inspectors will inspect tents and enforce the law that requires a permit for tents larger than 200 square feet. Cooking is not allowed inside or underneath a tent or awning.

Traffic & Parking Advisory: Arrive Early
Fans are encouraged to arrive at least two to three hours prior to kickoff to park in a campus parking lot. Select streets on and surrounding campus become one-way moving toward Ohio Stadium approximately two hours prior to a game. Traffic patterns reverse at the end of games to streamline traffic leaving the campus area.

*State Route 315 Construction Update
All three lanes of State Route 315 south opened Monday (Aug. 23), including all entrance and exit ramps, according to The Ohio Department of Transportation. The speed limit will resume to 65 mph. Until Sept. 10, the speed limit on State Route 315 north will remain 45 mph with traffic restricted to two lanes. The ramps at Goodale, I-670, Lane Avenue and Olentangy River Roads to State Route 315 will be closed. All lanes of SR 315 north, including all entrance and exit ramps will be opened by noon on Sept. 10. For additional information, visit the Ohio Department of Transportation’s web site at www.BuckeyeTraffic.org/315

*Day of Game Parking Information
Public parking is available in any “Day-of-Game” lot on a first-come, first-served basis at a charge of $15 per vehicle (no charge with a current OSU parking permit). These parking areas include Ag Campus lots, Buckeye lots at the Schottenstein Center, parts of the Polo Field lot, Sisson lot and the West Campus lots.

For fans parking on West Campus, a free bus service will provide continuous service beginning six hours prior to kickoff through one hour after the game. The shuttles pick up and drop off fans at Mount Hall on West Campus and the Sisson Hall footbridge located just west of Drake Union and Ohio Stadium.

Campus garages available for public parking include Arps Hall, Lane Avenue, Ninth Avenue East and West, Ohio Union North and South, Neil Avenue, South Cannon, and the 11th and 12th Avenue facilities.

Public parking is also available at the South Campus Gateway garage, located east of High Street between East 11th and East Ninth avenues. The cost is $20. A free shuttle bus will take fans from the Barnes and Noble bookstore, 1598 N. High St., to Neil Avenue between 10th and 11th avenues. The shuttle service begins two hours prior to games and ends two hours afterward.

•Disability Parking
Relocated two years because of ongoing construction projects, disability parking will be consolidated in the north lot of St. John Arena and in the new Lane Avenue Parking Garage. The parking fee is $15 and all spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

A valid State of Ohio disability placard is required and the individual to whom the placard is issued must also be present in the vehicle. In an effort to ensure that there is adequate disability parking available for those who truly need it, officers will be checking disability placards at both locations. Anyone using a placard without having the registered owner in the car will be unable to park and subject to a citation.

Shuttles from the disability-parking locations will provide continuous adapted transportation services beginning six hours before kickoff and continuing one hour after the game (except the Marshall game on Sept. 2). Shuttles will drop off guests on the east side of the stadium.

*Recreational Vehicles/Camper Parking
Passes for all RV parking on the Ohio State campus, both season and single game, are presold through the Athletics Department website at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Spaces are all pre-assigned and the designated spaces are held for the permit holder until 90 minutes prior to kick off. There is no day-of-game parking available.

The RV Parking lots open at 5 a.m. and are located next to Bill Davis Baseball Stadium and on Fred Taylor Drive across the street from the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

All RV campers with permits who arrive prior to 5 a.m. or RV campers without a parking permit may park at the Ohio State Fairgrounds, located less than two miles from campus. Parking is $25 per day, per vehicle and electrical/water hookups are available. A shuttle service to and from the fairgrounds will be provided by the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) for a roundtrip fee of $5 per person.

*Season Parking Permits
Individuals who have purchased a season parking permit from the Department of Athletics or Transportation & Parking Services will park in reserved lots located around Ohio Stadium, Fawcett Center, French Field House South, the North Polo field, the Schottenstein Center and the Riverbank lots west of the Olentangy River. The Northwest, Tuttle Park Place, and North Cannon (Medical Center) garages are also available.

*Ohio State Shuttle Information
Free bus shuttles from West Campus begin six hours prior to kickoff and continue until one hour after the game. Shuttles pick up and drop off fans at Mount Hall on West Campus and the Sisson Hall footbridge located just west of Drake Union and Ohio Stadium.

*Alternative Transportation
COTA provides express and local bus service to all Ohio State home football games. Express service will be available from the Ohio Expo Center on the Ohio State Fairgrounds, beginning three hours prior to the game and two hours after the game. The parking fee is $5 per vehicle. Roundtrip bus fare to and from Ohio State is $5 per adult (children up to 12 years of age ride free---limit three children per family). COTA will also operate a shuttle from the Crosswoods Park and Ride. Both routes will drop off and pick up guests just a few blocks from Ohio Stadium at Neil and 17th Avenues. For additional information, see