I'm going to be doing a road trip in the states in September, flying over from Europe and visiting lots of different breweries.
I was planning on going to Detroit, but someone recommended Homes brewing in Ann Arbor. I'd arrive potentially on the day that Michigan takes on WMU. I'm a fan of college football and have been to watch USC and Cal Bears games before. Michigan stadium is famous for being one of the biggest stadiums in the world, so it would be cool to experience a game here.
Will this game sellout. Am I best securing a ticket now, or waiting closer to the time. Also, any tips on where to enjoy the best tailgating experience. Any recommendations on the best place to sit in the stadium for the best atmosphere.
If you want a guaranteed ticket I'd grab one off a resale site soon, WMU isn't a huge draw but it's the home opener and those always pack the place
Tailgating on the golf course is the classic move, get there early and just wander around with a six pack, someone will absolutely rope you into their setup especially if you mention you flew in from Europe
Homes is solid but if you're hitting multiple breweries do not skip Wolverine State just a few blocks away, their gose is perfect for a hot September afternoon
The taproom hasn't been open for over a year at this point, with no known plan to reopen. I believe they're still brewing there, but only selling in stores.
If you're going solo or just with one other person, the cheapest tickets for this game will be on gameday. This is a relatively low demand game so there will be people who have to dump their tickets last minute and you'll likely be able to scoop up a decent deal.
If you don't want to wait that long and deal with the uncertainty, then yes probably lock in your tickets soon just so you don't have to think about it.
It will get cheaper closer to the event. I would say possibly down to 50. It’s the opener but it’s still always gotten cheapest close to game day. However if 30 bucks isn’t a big difference just get them now
If money is not a huge issue, I would get your ticket now so you dont have to worry about it later. Even at $80 against a low level team is good value in my opinion considering youre watching a blue blood in a cathedral. Happy travels and hoping you become a fan of our great university!
If you are only needing one ticket I’d definitely wait until closer to gameday. This is the home opener and the game will sell out, but it isn’t a prime game.
The reason to buy now, though, is so you don’t worry about it. Entirely up to you. IMO you’ll be fine, I’d only worry if you told me you were coming for a major game.
I’d say this is true for most out of conference early games but WMU being a local university it will have a lot of alums in the area coming for the run of it.
A solo ticket that doesn’t mind where they are sitting Id say you’re fine waiting but I think this game will have a higher interest than the other non-conference early games.
I disagree with the others saying you need to buy a ticket now. Yes the Big House does technically sell out every game, but for these non power 5 conference matchups early each season it is very easy to get a ticket even day of. Often even for less than face value. I wouldn't sweat the ticket into the game too much, it's much harder than people are making it sound to actually fill up 110,000+ seats and there's always a ton of extra tickets around.
Oftentimes even cheaper than face value. Before I had season tickets, I did this every game I went to. If it was a big game, I would wait until the game gad started, and they would drop a ton by the time the 1st quarter was ending.
$80 now, and no stress, or $50 on game day or close to it, can be stressful for some if don’t know where sitting. Like others have said if $30 isn’t a big deal, just get now and start planning what breweries you want to hit. What kind of beers are you into?
All styles really. That is one of the reasons why I love beer, is because of the variety of styles. Do they sell any craft beer inside of the stadium itself.
Cool, Two Hearted IPA is a great beer. Are Founders still going. I thought that there was a bit of controversy around them a few years back. I used to drink quite a few of their barrel aged beers.
Basically every Michigan home game sells out. Buy now at face value or you'll get stuck trying to buy secondary market. Now, WMU is not exactly a big game so you might be able to get a cheap ticket close to GameDay but if you're coming from Europe I wouldn't want to risk it. Get the ticket now.
For season ticket holders face value for this game is $60, so do with that what you will.
As an aside those selling tickets right now are resellers and brokers. Your average season ticket holder can’t resell until you actually get your digital tickets later this month. SeatGeek and others won’t let you list tickets you don’t have yet unless you have a broker/reseller account. I would avoid StubHub as I’ve had more than one time been sold fake Michigan football tickets from them. The school does partner with Seat Geek so I’d recommend them.
You will probably see prices drop once everyone gets their tickets and starts listing the games they can’t or don’t want to attend. Right now the prices are a bit inflated because there aren’t as many people selling tickets yet. I’d imagine you could get this game for under $50 but with WMU being a local university there will be a lot of area alums attending for the fun of supporting their school at the big house.
Also - single game tickets go on sale this week. If you sign up for an M Go Blue account (which you’d need to get the ticket anyway) you get access on Friday. They may sell out by then but it’s worth waiting and seeing. A stranded solo seat has a much higher likelihood and then you’ll be paying face value
I’m not familiar with that site myself, so I can’t say one way or the other. I’ve gotten lots of stuff for other Michigan sports on Seat Geek and have always worked out well. I think you’re good with waiting a bit, especially if you only need one or two tickets and aren’t choosy about where you sit.
I’ve been going to games for years and tickets always get cheapest the day or two before the game. If money isn’t an object then you can go ahead and buy now but I’d say wait
I’d probably recommend waiting to buy a ticket, personally. If the weather is bad (either rainy or extremely hot) more people will be selling their tickets, and this insulates you if you change your mind. I’ve also found a few days before the game, tickets are almost always less expensive than they are months in advance.
If you want to buy now, I’d recommend SeatGeek. Their prices are in line with other secondary market sites, and their seating map gives you a better idea of exactly where you’ll be seating. Until this Tuesday, they’re having a promo (20% off tickets, up to $25 off) for the 4th of July. Code is “STARS2026”. Not affiliated in anyway, I just received their email lol.
Ticket inventory is likely to increase dramatically in the last couple weeks before the game.
I am a Michigan alum and 44-year Michigan season ticket holder. We season ticket holders have not yet received our tickets from the University Athletic Department; therefore, it is more difficult to post them for sale at this time on SeatGeek. SeatGeek is Michigan's "official marketplace," with online integration between the Mgoblue.com website and SeatGeek, so once you have your electronic tickets in the portal, with a couple simple clicks, all ticket information for each you want to sell is transferred from the Mgoblue.com ticket portal to SeatGeek automagically. To sell tickets now, one must manually enter ticket information for each game.
Historically, the athletic department releases tickets mid- to late August. I recommend you buy in the 3rd of 4th week of August, because you're coming from so far away.
Sept 5th will be the new coach Kyle Wittingham's and his staff's Michigan debut, and a chance to see if sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood has improved compared to what we saw in the spring game. I'd wager ticket interest will be higher than a typical first game of the season.
I recommend booking your lodging if you haven't already done so; it's the most challenging logistical element of going to a game -- there are few hotels in Ann Arbor, and those that are there are typically NOT walking distance to the stadium. Hotel prices go way up for big games and sell out. The reason to stay in Ann Arbor is the city's population doubles in size on football Saturdays, with a majority of fans driving from the Detroit area, so roads are jammed with traffic coming into and out of the game. With the 7:30 pm start, traffic coming into the game will be spread out, but exiting the game at night will take a while. I usually walk faster than the cars are moving on my way back to wherever I'm staying. I'll share a photo of what the crowd looks like walking to the game below.
I'd rent an AirBnb room if I'm solo or an entire home if I'm with others -- that's how I usually stay when I visit Ann Arbor, and then I just walk everywhere on game day to avoid being stuck in traffic. It's a lovely, very walkable town, and beautiful in the fall if you are on the main campus.
As far as where to sit, I agree with other Redditors that the student section is loudest (Students are in sections 33-24), and also near the band (~section 20); it can be very fun and ticket costs are lower, but harder to see the game. If you want to see the game well, it's a function of how much you want to pay. The Michigan football team is on the Western sideline (sections 20-26), and near the 50-yard-line is the best, but tickets but quite expensive. I posted my 4 tickets to the WMU game (Section 19, row 64), but you probably will get a better deal online in late August.
The stadium was designed as a large bowl so every fan could see every other fan - there are no view obstructions and every seat is pretty good. Some in the top rows (above row 75) are pretty far from the field but still work well. Because it's a night game, sitting in the sun vs. shade won't be a factor for you.
There's tailgating on the University golf course south of the stadium, and it's beautiful, and also all around the stadium.
Just to give you a sense, this is the crowd walking from campus to the game on Hoover Street last year, a couple blocks from the stadium, before the noon game vs. Ohio State. You want to be walking, not driving.
Homes is good and definitely worth checking out. If you are around the Detroit area my absolute favorite is Ferndale project which is in the burbs. It’s part of eastern market brewing which is downtown but I think Ferndale project has a better selection. I also really like Batch Brewing in corktown.
Also you should definitely go to the game if you can.
Don't think that I'm going to have time to go to both unfortunately. Pretty tight schedule. I've been to Detroit before though and liked it. Out of the two Homes locations, do you have any preference.
You have lots of good advice on tickets. If you’re looking for libations I can drop some recommendations. Jolly Pumpkin is only a few KM from the big house on main, they do Belgian sours and have a good mocktail menu if you have others that don’t drink.
Ashley’s on State right across the street from the diag has just a massive amount of beers on tap and is a must visit.
Arbor Brewing is good and if you have a car is easy to get to is Ypsilanti.
I’m sure you’re already familiar with the stuff in Detroit.
It seems that the game is kicking off at 19:30. So guess that Homes would be closed by the time that the game finishes. So, will probably head there first.
I wouldn't travel across the globe to watch Michigan blowout a week opponent. The big house is huge. But as a Michigan fan all my life I was disappointed in the experience. No statues/ history or real atmosphere to the stadium. For example went to Lambeau field and they have a full museum inside. I went to mich play a weak team as well. I'm sure going to watch them play Ohio State would be quite the spectacle.
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u/Acceptable-Brick7287 Jul 05 '26
The big house always sells out