Tuesday - September 18, 2007
Visitor's Guide
A Visitor's Guide to Football Saturdays in Ann Arbor
Three Weeks Late
WHERE TO STAY
Hotels near the stadium
Popular places to stay a little further away include the Red Roof Inn and Hampton Inn on the northeast corner of time (with easy access to highways!). There is also a Courtyard / Marriott (and another Hampton Inn) heading the other direction, in the commercial district south of Ann Arbor.
HOW TO GET TO THE STADIUM
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) offers shuttle service ($2) to and from the stadium on game days. Check the AATA website for information on pickup and dropoff locations. Most of the hotels listed above either are within walking distance of the stadium or will be serviced by some kind of shuttle service.
My advice: do not drive to the stadium. You can find parking, on someone's lawn if nothing else, but you will fight the pedestrian crowd both entering and exiting the stadium area. If you are not taking a shuttle to the stadium, then walk. Tens of thousands of people will be walking to the stadium (down Division to Hoover to meet the Marching Band was my usual practice) from various spots on and around campus, and as long as the weather is halfway decent (and really, even if it's not) it's worth joining them. If you go early enough, you can march with the band to the stadium, as the band collects on the steps of Revelli Hall, across from Elbel field and leads the fans to the stadium. The free University buses will ferry you across campus if you are on the other side (or on North Campus).
Incidents between Michigan fans and rival fans are rare and mild - perhaps plenty of boasting and taunting, and the occassionally F- School Name shouted from a drunken balcony, but nothing much more threatening than that.
If you prefer to get there early and tailgate, the prime tailgating location is the University golf course (google map).
If you walk, note the location of Elbel field. You may catch rugby action before the game, and you may catch a lot of pickup football after the game.
IN THE STADIUM
Plan on being early, perhaps a half hour early. Five minutes before kickoff will land you in a long line to get in, only able to hear the crowd reaction to the first drive or two.
Once your inside the gates, make an early trip the Weir's Orchard booth. Weir's is an apple orchard that sells superb apple cider and excellent plain doughnuts. But go early, because they sell out. Beyond Weir's, food at the stadium includes Dominoes pizza, Mr. Spots (hoagies, grill, wings), Damon's Ribs and various other very meaty sounding options. Plus, of course, your usual stadium fare (popcorn, pretzels, hot dogs, etc).
Do not plan on joining your friends in a section other than one your seats are located in. That practice used to be common, but now ushers are known to check every ticket and reject the interlopers. And Michigan Stadium has enough 'proper' fans who will object if they try to take their seat and see someone else sitting in it. "There's plenty of room - scoot over" works in the student section, but nowhere else (at least not reliably).
BARS
Ashley's: The beer aficionado's bar.
Conor O'Neills: Another beer drinker's bar.
Good Time Charley's: Edible food, good drinks and a nice view of the campus coming to life.
Ricks: Standard fare.
Scorekeepers: If Michigan's got an afternoon game and you want to catch all the 12:30 action on big screen TVs.
RESTAURANTS
Amers: Coffee & pastry shop where you won't miss it.
Angelos: excellent breakfast with an enormous line
Ann Arbor Brewing Company: Family dining at one of the highest rated microbreweries in the region.
Backroom Pizza: Ann Arbor's attempt at NYC style deli pizza.
Blimpy Burger: an Ann Arbor landmark that you might pass on your way to the game (depending on how far you walk)
Cottage Inn: Best chain pizza in a region known for chain pizzas (birthplace of Dominoes and Little Caesars). Good pasta, too. Crowded, though (students invariably bring their parents to Cottage Inn).
Dominicks: Long-standing and very popular pizza landmark.
Earle: Italian/French, expensive and extremely good.
Gratzi: Upscale northern Italian with excellent food.
Grissly Peak Brewing Company: Pizza, pasta and the in-house brew.
Jerusalem Garden: Hole in the wall middle eastern with the best falafels I've ever had.
La Dolce Vita: One of the top dessert destinations in Ann Arbor.
Pizza House: decent pizza and top notch salads
Red Hawk Bar & Grill: A ... um ... bar & grill, I guess.
Seva: Vegetarian's delight. All veggie restaurant with multi-ethnic fare and superb yam fries.
Mr. Spots: Aforementioned meaty stuff.
Stucchi's: Good ice cream. Nothing special, but conveniently located right off the diag.
Zingermans Deli: arguably the most famous and most well rated 'restaurant' in Ann Arbor. Pricey, but good.
WHAT TO SEE
Maps of Campus
The Central Campus at Michigan is the where the heart of the university is. We'll get to the outliers in a minute. The stadium lies just south of Central Campus and downtown lies a little to the west (several of the restaurants listed above are "downtown").
The sites to see on Central Campus include
The Diag: Where students hang out, play frisbee, picnic, play their guitars and take long naps.
Angell Hall: One of the most recognizable facades on Michigan's campus.
Law Quad: Just off the main square, it's the most aesthetically pleasing spot on campus. The library is also an interesting 3 minute detour.
Nichols Arboretum: essentially a large, secluded park just off the eastern edge of campus.
The Union: The student gathering spot, both inside and out.
Unfortunately, the University's Art Museum is closed for renovations.
North Campus is the geographically larger but less populated campus at Michigan and houses the engineering school, music school and a few assorted others. If a slow walk along tree-lined streets with well manicured lawns, artificial ponds and fountains is more your pace, take the University Bus to North Campus, get off on Bonisteel Blvd, walk west, then north up Murfin, take a gander at the godawful clockless clock tower and turn back west. Head behind the music school, sit for a few minutes, look out over Bonisteel as it cuts its way through the greenery and head on. On Beal, near the Francois Xavier Bagnold building (Aerospace Engineering ... called the FXB by locals) lies The Wave Field, a "landscape sculpture" by Maya Lin, the artist who designed the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.
So, to reiterate: Central Campus = densely packed bustle, while North Campus = a little more quiet, a little more serene.
(for those who choose to stay on the northeast side of town - at the Red Roof or Hampton I mentioned earlier - North Campus is on your way from home to the stadium or stadium back home).
Virtual Tours of campus.
(thanks to all who contribute and if you're visiting, please read the comments section for lots of great input from locals ... prior comments from the last time I posted linked here).
