Ohio State Football Game Day Information and Quick Facts for the 2011 season

Football Game Day Web Page
The Ohio State Football Game Day web page www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/gameday features more information than ever for Buckeye fans and visitors. The site outlines stadium policies, parking policies, transportation options, fan information, and ADA and medical services all to help create a safe and family-friendly atmosphere. Updated information is available throughout the season.

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

Guests are encouraged to travel light. Bags and backpacks larger than 14-by-14-by-4 are prohibited. To avoid long lines at gate entrances, template stations are located around the stadium, allowing guests to measure their bags. Audio and video recording equipment and cameras with lens greater than 100 mm are also prohibited. All bags and containers are subject to search.

Guests are urged to arrive at their seats well in advance of kickoff and to keep their ticket stubs available throughout the game to assist ushers with seat verification.
*Everyone, regardless of age, is required to have a ticket or credential to gain admission into the stadium.
*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.
*An abbreviated list of items prohibited in Ohio Stadium include: alcohol, baby strollers, balls, beverages, containers (cans, bottles, ice chests, thermoses), fireworks, flags, food, Frisbees, illegal drugs, noisemakers, signs, and weapons (knives, irritants, firearms).
*Umbrellas are permitted inside the stadium for use before and after games.
*Guests who provide a physician’s note demonstrating a specific need for a chair-back seat should enter the stadium at Gates 13, 16, 23 or 26 only. Individuals with special health or medical needs can also enter through Gates 13, 16, 23 or 26.
*A complete listing of items allowed and prohibited inside the stadium is available on the game day website.

Disability Seating/Services

Accessible seating is located on all levels of Ohio Stadium for guests with disabilities. Individuals who need wheelchair accessible or disability seating need to complete a disability needs form available online at http://go.osu.edu/EYy or call the Athletics Ticket Office at (614) 292-2624 at least two weeks prior to a game.
All entrances at Ohio Stadium are accessible for guests with disabilities. Enter the gate nearest to the ticketed section, with the following exceptions:
1) If you are seated in sections 1A, 3A, 3AA, 5A, or 5AA please enter through gate 7.
2) If you are seated in sections 2A, 4A, 4AA, 6A, or 6AA please enter through gate 8.
Reserved seating for people using wheelchairs is located in AA Deck, D Deck and the South Stands.
Four elevators, located on the west side of Ohio Stadium between Gates 17-23, provide access to disability seating on D deck and Club levels.
(Guests will need a green sticker on their game ticket to access the elevator). Elevators located near Sections 7 and 10 provide access to B and C decks. One elevator, located in South Stadium near Section 39, only services the South Stands.

The University will continue to offer closed captioning on the main scoreboard in the South Stands 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.

Assistive listening devices are available at no charge at the Guest Services booths near Gates 13, 14 or 38. A driver’s license, credit card or some other acceptable form of picture identification is required as a deposit.

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 tickets to students than any other school in the nation (30,000). A limited amount of single game tickets are available for select games on the 2011 schedule, and are on sale now. Visit the Athletics Ticket Office website http://go.osu.edu/EYv for information on ticket availability and ticket exchange and forwarding options.

Only tickets purchased or received from the Athletics Ticket Office, Ticketmaster or the official Buckeyes Ticket Exchange 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 refused entry.

Discounted tickets
Guests using discounted student and faculty/staff tickets must present a valid Ohio State ID (BuckID) along with their ticket, prior to entering Ohio Stadium.

*Student and Faculty/Staff tickets are printed on distinctive “ID Required” ticket stock and require a current Ohio State ID for admittance.
*Student tickets require a valid ID with each ticket for admittance. One valid university 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 original 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 a game. Upgrades will not be honored on game day.

Ticket Exchange/Forwarding Options
Ticket holders unable to attend a game have two selling options available through their online ticket account. Ticket Exchange allows fans to post tickets for sale on the Ohio State Ticketing website. It is the only resale service that guarantees the buyer will receive valid tickets. The second option, Ticket Forwarding, allows ticket-holders to electronically forward tickets to guests via email. Associated fees apply for each service.

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. Guests should conduct themselves in a manner that allows everyone to enjoy the game in a safe, family-friendly atmosphere.

*The student led “Best Fans in the Land” campaign will again canvas tailgate areas to greet visiting guests before each home game and encourage Ohio State fans to extend a courteous welcome. The Ohio State Sportsmanship Council developed the initiative, now in its sixth season. For additional information on the 2011 campaign, log on to http://go.osu.edu/EY4

*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.

Guests are expected to obey all state and local laws.

*Law enforcement agencies enforce all applicable laws, including state laws regarding the use and possession of alcohol. Citations will be issued and arrests made for violation 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.

*Complete policies on Ohio’s open container law State of Ohio and The Ohio State University Alcohol Policies are available.

*ONLY propane grills are permitted on surface parking lots. Grilling is not permitted on garage rooftops or inside parking garages, in accordance with state and local fire codes.

*Fire officials 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 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. All lots open at 5 a.m. on game day.
Construction work will continue on Woodruff Avenue, between College Road and Tuttle Park Place and on 17th Avenue, between College Road and Neil Avenue during the 2011 football season. Access will be maintained for cars and pedestrians. On south campus, 12th Avenue between Cannon Drive and Neil Avenue is currently closed to thru traffic and 10th Avenue, just north of the Hospitals Garage, will be closed to vehicular traffic for the entire season.
The 2011 football parking map and information on game day traffic and construction is available at http://go.osu.edu/EYu or go43210.osu.edu. Updates are also provided 24 hours daily on 1650AM.

Game Day Parking
Public parking is available in any “Day-of-Game” lot on a first-come, first-served basis. The fee is $15 per vehicle. Owners of valid Ohio State parking permits are accepted at no charge. 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.

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
Disability parking is consolidated in the north lot of St. John Arena and in the Lane Avenue Parking Garage. The parking fee is $15 and all spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

These areas will both be accessible from Woodruff Avenue during construction. A valid State of Ohio disability placard, along with registration, is required and the individual to whom the placard is issued must 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. Shuttles will drop off guests on the east side of the stadium.

*Recreational Vehicles, Camper and Van Parking
Passes for all RV parking on the Ohio State campus, both season and single game, are presold through the Athletics Department website at http://go.osu.edu/EY3. Spaces are all pre-assigned and the designated space is held for the permit holder until 90 minutes before kick-off. There is no day-of-game parking available.

The RV Parking lots are located next to Bill Davis Baseball Stadium and on Fred Taylor Drive, across from the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Fans 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 lot, 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. Spaces are held up to 90 minutes before kick-off.

*Ohio State Shuttle Information
Free bus shuttles with continuous service run from West Campus beginning 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 is available from the Ohio Expo Center on the Ohio State Fairgrounds, three hours prior to the game and two hours after. The parking fee is $5 per vehicle. Roundtrip bus fare 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 in Worthington. Both routes will drop off and pick up guests just a few blocks from Ohio Stadium at Neil and 17th avenues. Contact: www.cota.com

To help fans locate taxicabs after games, police will again this year set up a taxi lane on Lane Avenue near Tuttle Park Place.

The “Pedal Instead” Bicycle Valet Program provides service at all home games. The bike corral is located at the east end of the Woody Hayes Bridge on the south side of Woody Hayes Drive. For more information, contact http://pedalinstead.org/

*Pedestrian Safety
Campus construction projects will be ongoing throughout the season. Fans are encouraged to walk in clearly marked main intersections, especially following late afternoon and night games. Pedestrians and drivers are urged to follow the instructions of public safety officials who are working to ensure their safety.