We are Hawkeye fans coming into Bloomington for the Iowa game. We are coming in an RV. We've been to most of the stadiums in the Big Ten and most of the time there is detailed information about where we can park and the rules for parking (e.g. can't park before 5:00 on Friday night etc.). I've looked online and I just can't find any information for IU. I talked to IU's Parking Dept. and they transferred me to the Ticket Office. The Ticket Office didn't really have any information either, but he thought that RV's might park in the "Purple Lot." I've looked on StubHub for passes and the "Purple Lot" is not an option. Any helpful ideas? Thanks and congrats on the 2-0 start.
Help on RV Parking (Pretty Please)
- Thread starter KCHAWKI
- Start date
Try this link - click on the "parking" link
https://tickets.iuhoosiers.com/index.aspx?path=football#sectionParking
and also try the "Grass Lots
Full Parking and Stadium Traffic Information:"
link that is right below the cost info on the parking page
Basically - RV is $100.
There is parking all around the stadium - some paved - some grass
There are grass lots across 17th South (to the immediate south of the stadium)
Sadly, the "when can I park" question is never answered.
The closest you get is "lots open at least 5 hours prior to kick off."
I think it has just never been a problem that required solving - so nobody did.
Most IU fans want to drive in at the last minute, park quick, and leave early to beat the traffic!
Crowds have not been so big that that it has been a problem lately.
I-69/Hwy. 37 construction between Indy and Bloomington has been a problem - but massive crowd size has not been the issue.
Students park in Lot 8 during week and take busses to classes. They have to get their cars out of that lot before Saturday morning of game week ends, but IU never says if RV's can arrive on Friday night and stay the night before (or night after) a Saturday game.
Last week, the Monsoon closed all the grass lots.
You might try one or more of these folks - Chuck Crabbe helped me on an issue a few years ago:
FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS - PHONE: (812) 855-2127 | FAX: (812) 856-5155
Chuck Crabb Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities ccrabb@indiana.edu (812) 855-2127
Rebecca Pany Assistant Athletic Director for Administration and Operations rpany@indiana.edu (812) 856-2161
Mike Freel Director of Operations/Director of Henke Hall of Champions mjfreel@indiana.edu (812) 856-8989
Robert Gilmore Custodial Shift Supervisor rhgilmor@indiana.edu (812) 855-0133
John Harmon Sound/Light Technician jfharmon@indiana.edu (812) 855-5627
Nate Hill Facilities Maintenance Specialist nrh@indiana.edu (812) 855-3993
Jimmy Jarvis General Supervisor jmjarvis@indiana.edu (812) 855-3993
Jeremy Tredway Sports Turf Manager jetred@iu.edu (812) 856-2256
Gary Dyer Event Set-up Coordinator gdyer@indiana.edu (812) 855-3993
Kyle Parker Event Set-Up Coordinator kylparke@indiana.edu (812) 855-3993
Ricky Williams Event Set-Up Coordinator rigwilli@indiana.edu (812) 855-3993
Bill Thomas Groundskeeper wijthoma@indiana.edu (812) 855-3993
PS - I think your game in Bloomington decides whether we have a great or medium season. We need to win.
RV parking will open @ 6:00 Friday Nite. You can probably slip in prior to that, but there won't be anyone there to direct you. You're good till 12:00 Sunday, though I don't that is strictly enforced.
As far as locations, RVs do park in the Purple Lot. However, you need a pass for those locations. Otherwise, you'll park in a lot north of baseball stadium (Corner of Fee Lane and 46 Bypass on a map). Generally, that's where visiting fans end unless you can find a Gate 10 or Gate 11 RV pass from somewhere.
Enjoy Bloomington!
As far as locations, RVs do park in the Purple Lot. However, you need a pass for those locations. Otherwise, you'll park in a lot north of baseball stadium (Corner of Fee Lane and 46 Bypass on a map). Generally, that's where visiting fans end unless you can find a Gate 10 or Gate 11 RV pass from somewhere.
Enjoy Bloomington!
Great insight. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing Bloomington and the upgraded facilities there. Good luck the rest of the way (except against Iowa).
That’s funny because if you go to iuhoosiers.com and go to the area where they sell parking, it shows general $15 parking available for the Iowa game. It says , however, for RV parking to call the ticket office (the purple lot is where you want to be), why doesn’t it surprise me the people in the ticket office are clueless.
Not to defend the ticket office, but the RV parking in the Purple Lot is limited. In the past couple of years its been sold out for the season (at least I was told this). For some games (i.e. Mich, OSU, PSU, etc) if they let all the RVs parked by the baseball into Purple there'd be limited space for those who purchased car parking in that lot. It's gotten even tighter with the SEZ construction since the RVs that parked on that end are now in Purple
All the more reason to make a policy/plan
Basically, IU's "parking lot" plan is just that - a "parking" plan.
It is not a "tailgate" plan or an "RV plan."
Tailgating requires more room than parking.
It's fair and reasonable to make "tailgating" folks pay more than "parking" folks - and to give them pre-planned "tailgate" room.
That is all fine, but when they ask people to call the ticket office about RV parking, the people answering those calls should know how to direct them. If the purple lot is full, fine, then tell them where they can go and park with an RV. Instead they are clueless.
I've called around some more and gathered more information. Someone at IU directed me to Earlston Bean, Senior Assistant Athletic Director for Event Management. He was very nice and shared a lot of helpful information. Essentially, I'm looking for a parking pass that says "Gate 11 RV" or "RV Auxiliary Lot." When I called back to the Ticket Office, I talked to a different person than I spoke with this morning and she was also helpful. She was able to confirm that all IU issued RV parking passes for the Iowa game are sold out. I'll just try to keep my eye on the secondary market for one. Thanks again.
I do see a gate 11 RV pass(purple lot) for the Iowa game on Stubhub, but they are asking $500 !
Good luck, I hope you find a spot. We have an RV spot but it is not in the general RV area, so I can't help much, be sure to get out into Btown and walk campus as IU is the best road trip venue in the BIG by a wide margin.
Restaurants, bars, live music, and tailgating are awesome in Btown.
Restaurants, bars, live music, and tailgating are awesome in Btown.
Arrrgh, that is absolute robbery! Keep plugging away and something more reasonable will be available.
Is this your first time in Bloomington? We hope you will like what you see and experience here. A beautiful campus, a freshly enclosed stadium, attractive town, and you are visiting when the colors are peaking. We are surrounded in all directions by state parks, so fit in some roaming if time permits. Let us know how things went for you after your visit.
Oops, KCHAWKI, I responded to you under “JohnnyRick” post, instead of here. Please read there. Best of luck with finding a RV spot.
Thanks for all the great information. It's our first trip to Bloomington so we are really looking forward to it. We'll definitely check out the tailgating, the live music, restaurants, and bars. That's right up our alley. I hadn't heard about the state parks so I'll look into that too. You guys are being too nice; now I'm going to feel bad when the Hawks win. 
If it helps at all, it's all downhill from that lot to walk to the stadium. After the game will be a different story!
All parking close to the stadium is permit only, but you can’t buy any permits anywhere.
Can anyone tell me about gate 10-11 parking area? Lot on Fee & 13th or the lot north of the baseball diamond.
Been to Bloomington about 5 times and never had an issue parking. Their program must be on the upswing if parking is becoming an issue.
Can anyone tell me about gate 10-11 parking area? Lot on Fee & 13th or the lot north of the baseball diamond.
Been to Bloomington about 5 times and never had an issue parking. Their program must be on the upswing if parking is becoming an issue.
Yeah our friends cousin who were staying with said they had someone trying to sell them a pass for that lot for 50$? Is that a good deal?
What time do day of game parking lots open? It said 7am for pass holders, is there a different time if your paying cash? Sorry for all the questions.
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Face for a pass is $15-20. There are lots around like the church lot across the bypass that will be open if you get there early. $20. 7am for everyone unless you’re an RV.
They’ve stopped overselling the parking lots. Along with that they’ve lost spaces to building projects (hoops practice facility, volleyball arena, marching band, etc).
