Looking for some advice from those who have experience with ND on game day-
Staying about 2 miles away at a hotel.... I see that parking on game day is $40. What lot does that get you? What time should I get there to get a decent spot? I’ll be with my wife and college aged daughter, so walking isn’t a problem. Just don’t want to be in a bad spot. I haven’t been to a game since 2006 and I’m stoked!
We are planning on doing a “tunnel tour” on Friday afternoon and we’d like to catch the trumpets in the dome too. We want to attend the pep rally too.... any advice is appreciated with regard to arrival times to get a spot to park (pep rally is at Eddy St Commons). Is there something I listed that is not worthwhile? I’m open to any ideas for things that are more enjoyable around the campus as well. We’ve toured the campus previously so we don’t really need a guided tour.... I’m mainly concerned with whether I’m spending our time wisely and when/where to park...
Again any help/advice/suggestions are tremendously appreciated!
$40 parking spot sounds like White Field, but I'm not 100% certain. White Field is the very northern part of campus across Douglas Rd. What I recommend is to get a map of campus on Friday and scope out a spot the day before. This is a 3:30 game against Ball State, people will probably really start to show up around 11. If weather sucks, that will probably get moved back to closer to kickoff.
Pep Rally: If its at Eddy Street Commons, I would park in one of the
nicer neighborhoods just southwest of eddy commons. I bolded "nicer" because you can be in a really nice neighborhood and then 2 blocks later you can be in a real shit hole. Its something that the city and Notre Dame is working to fix. But Eddy Street Commons is awesome, lots of food options and a bookstore for merch. If you don't feel comfortable parking in a neighborhood, I'd try the stadium lot. Eddy Commons is literally across the street from the stadium. I don't recommend Eddy Street's parking garage; it gets really congested and you'd probably be parking on the top floor. Consider the parking garage your last option.
My favorite thing to do the night before a home game is to go to the drum circle at the front steps of the golden dome. If you or your family are people that go to bed early, this probably isn't for you. Basically, the drummers in the Notre Dame band perform a drum line at midnight in front of the golden dome. It is really awesome. Now, its been a few years since I've been to one. Ask someone if they still do them because I'd hate for you to show up at midnight with nothing going on lol. If they still do them, I'd show up no later than 11:30 for a good spot.
Have you or your family seen the new renovations to Purcell Pavilion or the new Compton Center? They are both right next to the football stadium and both are awesome. Notre Dame opens them up to the public on game days. It is something you can do a few hours before kickoff to kill some time. Sometimes you can catch the boys or girls team scrimmaging on the court.
You said your daughter is college aged. Does that mean she's 21? Lots of good bars, as you could expect, surround the campus and downtown. The Backer is probably the most popular; its right off campus and always draws a good crowd on home game weekend. Brothers and O'Rourke's are in Eddy Street Commons; Brothers is your cliche college bar at night and O'Rourke's has an Irish feel/vibe to it. Corby's is downtown and is probably the second most popular; if you walk in and it looks familiar...thats probably because that is where they filmed the bar fight scene in Rudy. There are other bars as well, but the 4 I listed are probably the best.
Other than that, the rest is just your typical Notre Dame stuff: the grotto, Touchdown Jesus, Golden Dome, the lake, etc.. If you haven't been there since 2006, I recommend basically seeing everything and giving yourself the works!
If you have any questions, send me a DM!