Darth's Guide to Lincoln on Game Days

One of the most popular areas of the old dh.com was the Guide to Lincoln.  Quite often visiting fans would ask what to do and see in Lincoln when coming in for a game.  Rather than reply individually I gathered the most common suggestions in one place.

Orientation
Numbered streets in central Lincoln run North to South, increasing as you go East.  Lettered streets in central Lincoln run East to West, with letters progressing as you go North.  You should be able to navigate downtown Lincoln and City Campus knowing only the alphabet.  Downtown Lincoln is roughly located from 7th to 17th Streets and "L" and Vine ("V") Streets.  Campus takes up the Northern half of that space.  Memorial Stadium is located at 9th and Vine Streets.  Its the big gray bowl, you can't miss it.

Lincoln is a friendly city, so you should feel safe there as long as you take normal precautions.  The downtown area is well-lit and popular enough to be safe at night.   It is well patrolled by both bicycle police and police cruisers.  On campus, security stations have been installed everywhere.  Look for the blue lights to locate one closest to you.  They connect you to the University operator, and can be used for non-emergencies if necessary.  Don't be afraid to ask the locals for directions, as Husker fans take pride in being excellent hosts, especially for visiting football fans.

The telephone area code for Lincoln is 402.

Driving and Parking
Interstate 80 slows down before home games so you should give yourself extra time to get into town on Saturday mornings.  The I-180/Downtown exit dumps your right onto 9th Street in front of the Stadium, which tends to get severely clogged an hour before game time.  I-180 intersects Cornhusker Hwy, so you could exit there and take 14th or 27th to get near campus.  The 27th Street exit on I-80 isn't too bad, except that 27th has a lot of stop lights near campus and becomes a traffic jam before/after games. 

Parking isn't too bad depending on what you are doing before/after the game.  If you don't care about pre/post game festivities, you can park at several locations around town and ride the shuttle buses offered by the city's metro system StarTran.  They leave from several popular areas around town, like Wal-Mart (27th and Superior), Gateway Mall (66th and "O" Street), Holmes Lake (70th and Van Dorn), etc.  The express shuttle takes you right to the stadium.  After the game, shuttles run for an hour or so back to your parking lot.

All of the University surface parking lots are assigned to booster clubs, so you can't park in them unless you are a member.  There is still a ton of parking available fairly close to the stadium.  Downtown has a half-dozen large parking garages close to campus, which are available if you are around early enough for $5 or so.  They are close to the restaurants/bars downtown and about a 3-6 block walk to the stadium.

My suggestion is to get downtown early, find a good parking spot while they are available, and enjoy interacting with the locals.  After the game, find something to do on campus or downtown until the traffic congestion eases a bit.  In the next update I will cover popular bars and restaurants you may want to consider during your visit to Lincoln.