Tailgating for UK Football? Arrive Early

After a year with no tailgating due to the pandemic, it was great to return to the Orange Lot across from Kroger Field this past Saturday. Normally when you combine a less than exciting non conference opponent with a noon kickoff you can navigate through the Orange Lot pretty easily. With ticketing and parking passes going digital we expected there to be traffic around Kroger Field as everyone adjusted to the changes. On the UK sites we were instructed to enter the Orange Lot via Nicholasville Road, turning on Alumni, through the roundabout, and eventually enter to the left from University Drive. That’s more left hand turns than I like to take.

Coming from north of Lexington, we decided to stay with our normal approach to the Orange Lot. We were on track to arrive two hours prior to kickoff. Heading down Limestone, we turn left on Virginia, across Rose to Huguelet (at this point I usually look at the nice new dorm that stands where the old Haggin Hall stood and wonder what happened to all the cockroaches that used to reside there) , and a right on to University.

It was smooth sailing until the Cooper and University intersection. At that point, the traffic was slow but about what you would expect as cars were converging on their parking lots. We arrived at the Orange Lot entrance and showed the attendant our mobile parking pass. I asked him how things were going and he just shook his head and indicated that there were some problems to work out.

We arrived in the lot just as planned, two hours before kickoff. We were surprised at the number of folks that were already parked and tailgating. I’m convinced had we taken the route that UK suggested versus our normal route, that we would’ve been in traffic another 20-30 minutes. After a year without tailgating it was good to see BBN out in the lots and enjoying the nice weather. Two hours left us just enough time to set up our chairs and a small table and have some snacks and drinks. I threw a little bit of football with my son and his friend (it’s mandatory to throw either a football or cornhole at a tailgate) and then we were off to the stadium.

Overall, I don’t think the traffic was bad but considering the noon kickoff and opponent, it was surprisingly congested. Thankfully, our schedule allows us to arrive several hours early for the Missouri game. If you’re thinking of going this Saturday I’d plan on arriving at least 3 hours prior to the game or expect the possibility of being redirected to another lot.