The first three games of the season could be the difference between the Wildcats fighting for an upper tier bowl game, or any post season play at all. Let's take a look at the hotel and ticket situation for the first three games on the Kentucky Football schedule. I will list what I believe to be the best three options for each at the time of this post. The biggest factors on this list will be location and value. I'm not sure even the most diehard of Kentucky football fans would book the entire weekend in Hattiesburg, so for the sake of consistency let's just look at Saturday night stays for the first few games.
Game 1 @ Southern Mississippi
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Fairfield Inn & Suites
by Marriott $144 - Residence Inn $219
- Hilton Garden Inn $129
The first two choices on the list are shown to be about a mile from the stadium. The two Marriott properties also offer a free breakfast buffett for laying that foundation prior to tailgating. The third property is being used by the UK Alumni Association and that great price was listed onwww.ukalumni.net .
Game 1 Tickets
- Section N row 2 $76 each
- Section NN row 11 $55 each
- Section P row 5 $73 each
I like using the Seatgeek app when seaching for tickets. I applied a setting to include taxes and fees on these listings. All three listings would put you behind the Kentucky bench. The row 2 listing in Section N puts you at midfield and very close to the UK sideline. I believe the UK allotment will be in section Q, so this puts you right next to the BBN.
Game 2 vs Eastern Kentucky
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Downtown Lexington $136
- Hilton Hotel Downtown Lexington $189
- Holiday Inn Express Northwest Lexington $126
I've stayed at each of these properties and would stay again in a heartbeat. The downtown Holiday Inn would be walkable to the stadium and the others would be a short Uber or shuttle service. With the early kickoff against EKU, I checked these prices for the Friday night prior to the game.
Game 2 Tickets
Tickets are available all over the place for this one. I would be surprised if you had to pay more then $25(face value) to get into the inaugural game at Kroger Field. If you ever wanted to find a parking pass for a game, this may be a good opportunity.
Game 3 @ South Carolina
Game 3 Tickets
- Section 16 row 28 $43 each
- Section 20 row A5 $84 each
- Section 20 row 2 $86 each
I used information from https://www.rateyourseats.com/seating-guide/williams-brice-stadium-ncaaf to put together this game. The site says visitors sections are 20,21, and 22. Unlike the hotel situation, there are a pretty good selection of tickets at reasonable rates. I would expect those rates to slowly climb higher, especially if the Cats look good in their first two games. The South Carolina trip is one that many UK fans routinely make. If you know one of those fans they would be a great source of info on the tendencies of last minute tickets in Columbia.
More Options
The three options listed for each game are just my personal favorites at the time of this post. The South Carolina game could require a bit more creativity for an overnight stay as that game draws closer. Tickets look good at the moment for all three games and that's without checking Stubhub listings. I hope you can use some of this information if you're considering being there when the Wildcats take the field. Thanks for looking and Go Cats! —-quick edit— The Residence Inn is now showing sold out for the Southern Mississippi game
