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EXCELLENT IDEA FOR A STICKY!

I have just purchased tickets via the vikings ticketxchange for the Lions Vs. Vikings game in December. I have only visited your city/s once about 13 years ago to go to the mall of america.

I am taking my GF on this quick vacation and we are staying about a 4-6 minute drive away from the MofA due to the fact she wants to shop on saturday.

This will be my first NFL experience and I was just wondering if I can get some help here.

1. Should I drive downtown and park in a parkade or is there some type of rapid transit from the bloomington area that I could take? ***just saw there is a light rail system on the previous page........are the waiting stations heated? and how busy would this system be before and after the game?

- Part of the deal for staying in bloomington and shopping is that she would drive my drunk ass home from the game, as I was more inclined to stay downtown.

2. What time should I head to the Metrodome to indulge in all the pre game activities?

3. Are there locations where people get together for bbqs or certain pubs/bars that are kind of the place to be before the game?

4. Just any other tips, heads ups or things to do before the game would be much appreciated as I want to make this an amazing experience for my first NFL game.

Thanks guys and I look forward to hopefully a Wild and Jets rivarly forming this season!
 
I haven't been to a Vikings game in years (I'm a Packer fan). But I can help with the first question.
Ziggy66 said:
EXCELLENT IDEA FOR A STICKY!
This will be my first NFL experience and I was just wondering if I can get some help here.

1. Should I drive downtown and park in a parkade or is there some type of rapid transit from the bloomington area that I could take? ***just saw there is a light rail system on the previous page........are the waiting stations heated? and how busy would this system be before and after the game? There is light rail that runs from MoA to Metrodome. http://www.metrotransit.org/metro-blue-line I haven't parked near Metrodome on during a game but I imagine the post-game traffic is pretty bad. If you have DD, take your own vehicle.

Thanks guys and I look forward to hopefully a Wild and Jets rivarly forming this season!
Click to expand...
 
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you're going to a Vikings game for your first NFL experience. I think it was downhill the day you bought the tickets. lol.

anyway, pregame stuff i think starts 2hrs before kickoff, but i could be wrong on that. I have seen people tailgate outside of The Old Spaghetti factory and the parking lot across the street from there.

The lightrail is insane busy after games. if you find a bar or something to go to after the game, do that for a while then catch the train back to Bloomington. Otherwise you'll be waiting a long time in the cold and then stuck on an overly full train.

But with that said, take the train. parking is expensive and traffic sucks after the game.

Might I suggest taking the gf to Hells Kitchen for breakfast. Really good food, the in house made peanutbutter is great, and the main reason to go is the caramel roll. split it and thank me later.
 
Agree with the posts above. If anything, I would say you could take the train the opposite direction after the game to go further into downtown. The Metrodome is located in a pretty dead part of downtown, but if you hop on the train for a couple stops to the Warehouse District, you'll be able to find a place to grab a drink and/or a bite to eat while the gameday crowd thins out. The train ride in that direction will still be pretty crowded, but it will be short and will be less crowded than the ones going out toward Bloomington.
 
Thanks for the advice, everyone. Everything went according to plans. :thumbu:

Here was the itinerary, by the way. I figure it might help someone else considering a long weekend in the Twin Cities. Keep in mind that I'm a historical photographer, which influenced some of the decisions.

Friday:
Driving up from La Crosse, WI to Hastings, the Great River Road
National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN
Mall of America

Saturday:
Mill City Museum
St. Anthony Falls District
Walker Art Museum/Sculpture Garden
Drive around Lake of the Isles
Dinner in Uptown

Sunday:
Science Museum
capitol
Summit Avenue, including tour of James J. Hill House
Minehaha Falls
Dinner at Davanni's

Monday:
Como Park Zoo & Conservatory
Lyndale Park Rose Gardens (proposal)
Drove around Lake Harriet
Walked around Linden Hills

Tuesday:
Rounded up the remaining historic sites of interest
Fort Snelling
 
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Didn't care for it, to be honest. Pretty expensive and a fairly mediocre collection. The current exhibit on the top three floors was terrible. The more permanent pieces were much better.
 
00xtremeninja said:
you're going to a Vikings game for your first NFL experience. I think it was downhill the day you bought the tickets. lol.
anyway, pregame stuff i think starts 2hrs before kickoff, but i could be wrong on that. I have seen people tailgate outside of The Old Spaghetti factory and the parking lot across the street from there.

The lightrail is insane busy after games. if you find a bar or something to go to after the game, do that for a while then catch the train back to Bloomington. Otherwise you'll be waiting a long time in the cold and then stuck on an overly full train.

But with that said, take the train. parking is expensive and traffic sucks after the game.

Might I suggest taking the gf to Hells Kitchen for breakfast. Really good food, the in house made peanutbutter is great, and the main reason to go is the caramel roll. split it and thank me later.
Click to expand...

Lol well it is not the best place to be during late December but due to my time restraints with work it is the quickest trip for me to catch a game and then get back all within sat sun mon. I guess I could drive to Winnipeg and fly somewhere but it may be the Vikings last game in the Metrodome (dependent on performance of the team obviously) and my team is the Lions (I know I know :laugh: )


thanks for the suggestions and info.

Hell's Kitchen......... you had me at caramel roll!!! I will put that on the list for sunday or monday morning.
 
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Me and the boys are going down to MINNY for the Nov. 17th Jets game...first time down there since the Jets came back. Last time we were down was for a Flames game and it was freaking awesome.
Love you Gophers! Cant say enough about how friendly and well treated we were...as we yelled and slured Oh Canada we got thumbs up from lots of Wild Fans and cheering us with their beers... so many of you guys comming up to us Jets fans in our old Jets 1.0 Jerseys telling us how they truely hope we got our team back....well we did:yo:

And we are looking forward to making our triumphant return...

And also we hope to see some of our division rivals from M.I.N.N.E.S.O.T.A up here for a game or two..
 
Paul Bunyan said:
I'd make the trip, but I assume it's nigh impossible to get tickets no?
Click to expand...

You can always get tickets....The thing is that you would have to use Kijiji or ebay...but most if not everyone uses Kijiji. Stubhub exists but is never really used. There is also the official Jets Season tickets exchange.
Also if you want to take a risk Ticketmaster releases tickets that are held in reserve for Players wives, friends and so forth ( a few hundred tickets) that are released if not accounted for a few hours before the game.
If you dont mind spending a little bit more than face value for your tickets you shouldnt have a problem. If you can get Leafs or Canadiens games on the after market you can get Wild Tickets.

Look forward to seeing some of you guys up here...
 
Wolf357 said:
You can always get tickets....The thing is that you would have to use Kijiji or ebay...but most if not everyone uses Kijiji. Stubhub exists but is never really used. There is also the official Jets Season tickets exchange.
Also if you want to take a risk Ticketmaster releases tickets that are held in reserve for Players wives, friends and so forth ( a few hundred tickets) that are released if not accounted for a few hours before the game.
If you dont mind spending a little bit more than face value for your tickets you shouldnt have a problem. If you can get Leafs or Canadiens games on the after market you can get Wild Tickets.

Look forward to seeing some of you guys up here...
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you had a positive experience at the X.

I was waiting for the schedule to come out to see if the Wild played up there on a weekend... and they do!

We're planning on heading up for the Nov 23rd game. Face value looks almost double what we pay for nosebleeds, but I'm planning on paying double that.

It's an afternoon game, so you got a suggestion on where to grab a beer afterwards?
 
Crazytrain83 said:
Glad to hear you had a positive experience at the X.

I was waiting for the schedule to come out to see if the Wild played up there on a weekend... and they do!

We're planning on heading up for the Nov 23rd game. Face value looks almost double what we pay for nosebleeds, but I'm planning on paying double that.

It's an afternoon game, so you got a suggestion on where to grab a beer afterwards?
Click to expand...

I'll give you some of my best spots...Bear in mind I'm 39 so my Crazy days are a little behind me.

Best place you can just walk to after the game...The Shark Club, followed by The Tavern United.
Best Place if your a little older and want a Club (25-40) The Palamino Club. Its about a 15 minute Cab Ride down Portage.
Best Pub experience (and my personal favourite bar in the city...The Kings Head in the Exchange.its a private club but all you have to do is pay $5.00 for a membership.
Best place to eat before the game Ray and Jerrys...(stay away from most places near the arena for food before the game...overpriced, crazy and stupid busy) Ray and Jerrys is a steakhouse and about a 15 minuete cab ride away.
The bars around the MTScenter are very safe and a good crowd...but be careful of the bars in the Core...Winnipeg does unfortunately have a gang problem and those bars on Main street are shady..
Any other ideas or questions PM me and I'm more than happy to give you some ideas for hotels restaurants and something fun to do..
 
i'm one of the people who absolutely enjoyed the Peg fans coming to the X whatever the game the last few years...those guys (and girls) plus the generally nice online presence they have here are going to make this rivalry weird. :handclap:
 
rynryn said:
i'm one of the people who absolutely enjoyed the Peg fans coming to the X whatever the game the last few years...those guys (and girls) plus the generally nice online presence they have here are going to make this rivalry weird. :handclap:
Click to expand...

:cheers:
 
Wolf357 said:
I'll give you some of my best spots...Bear in mind I'm 39 so my Crazy days are a little behind me.

Best place you can just walk to after the game...The Shark Club, followed by The Tavern United.
Best Place if your a little older and want a Club (25-40) The Palamino Club. Its about a 15 minute Cab Ride down Portage.
Best Pub experience (and my personal favourite bar in the city...The Kings Head in the Exchange.its a private club but all you have to do is pay $5.00 for a membership.
Best place to eat before the game Ray and Jerrys...(stay away from most places near the arena for food before the game...overpriced, crazy and stupid busy) Ray and Jerrys is a steakhouse and about a 15 minuete cab ride away.
The bars around the MTScenter are very safe and a good crowd...but be careful of the bars in the Core...Winnipeg does unfortunately have a gang problem and those bars on Main street are shady..
Any other ideas or questions PM me and I'm more than happy to give you some ideas for hotels restaurants and something fun to do..
Click to expand...

Also 39-years old. And I hear you clucking.

I'm thinking we're going to look for a place where we can have a few beers, get a burger, and watch HNIC (Something I've never actually done... in Canada!).

Thanks for the tips!
 
Crazytrain83 said:
Also 39-years old. And I hear you clucking.

I'm thinking we're going to look for a place where we can have a few beers, get a burger, and watch HNIC (Something I've never actually done... in Canada!).

Thanks for the tips!
Click to expand...

Kings Head is a great option. Laid back (typically), lots of space, good beer selection, good food and great bartenders.
 
Chicago girls coming up this week for a business meeting.

Just wondering, any good Mexican restaurants in Eagan? We are staying near our meeting site.

Any thoughts very much appreciated. We will have a car and hate chain restaurants, looking for a good spot fairly close by.

Thanks!
 
Hi there, we're (three of us) travelling from Finland to watch DAL@MIN game on 12th of October.

Any recommendations where to buy tickets (i guess they are not available yet) and where to stay (for one night only, since it's kind of a road trip) in St. Paul?

I've heard that Tom Reid's Pub is a place to go. Also he Holiday Inn is very close to venue.

Any help would be appreciated!
thanks
 
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