A-Game Tailgate at N.C. State

Game Info
Maryland at N.C. State
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009
Kickoff Time/TV TBA
Carter-Finley Stadium (57,583)
Raleigh, N.C.
Series: Maryland leads, 31-30-4.

Tickets ($45 each)
Order your tickets through the Maryland ticket office by calling (800) IMA-TERP. The priority deadline to order is Oct. 16. Probably two or three weeks before gameday, UM will return unsold tickets to the N.C. State ticket office. If that's the case, call the N.C. State ticket office at 919-865-1510 and request seats in the visitor sections.

Raleigh Recommendations
Some friends of Team A-Game have provided some bar and restaurant suggestions in Raleigh. “If you like Irish, there is RiRa's, but staying on Hillsborough Street is great — multiple options with no franchise stuff!”

Hillsborough Street Highlights:
Porter's Tavern (Click here for a review.) “It's a nicer restaurant that still gets a walk-up crowd.”
Mitch's Tavern (Click here for a review.)

Sports Bars:
Hi5 www.hi5raleigh.com
Stool Pigeons near Hi5 (Click here for info.)
Damon's Grill near the RBC Center www.damons.com

Pizza: Mellow Mushroom www.mellowmushroom.com/locator/index.html

Directions/Map to Tailgate Lot
From the Balto/D.C. corridor, take I-95 South through Richmond and exit onto I-85 South towards Durham, N.C., and Atlanta. Continue on I-85 South into North Carolina, and feel free to make obscene gestures to the welcome signs as you cross state lines (provided your passengers are of appropriate age). Around Henderson, N.C., watch for signs for U.S. Route 1 southbound to Raleigh, and follow that into town.

Gopack.com directs visiting team fans to park at the N.C. State College of Veterinary Medicine on Blue Ridge Road (near the intersection of Trinity Road) or to gameday cash parking lots on Westchase Blvd. Click here for a PDF map of the area around Carter-Finley Stadium, from gopack.com.

Raising of the Flags
TBA. Conflicting portions of gopack.com indicate university-controlled lots open either four or five hours prior to kickoff. State fans are pretty good tailgaters, so it's a fair bet that commercial gameday cash parking lots in the area may open sooner.

Conditions and Forecast
Click here for conditions in Raleigh, N.C., courtesy of weather.com.

Official Web Sites
Maryland www.umterps.com
N.C. State www.gopack.com

Team Hotel
Hilton Raleigh-Durham Airport at Research Triangle Park
4810 Page Creek Lane
Durham, NC 27703
Phone: 919-941-6000
www.hilton.com

Altnernate Hotel
Courtyard Raleigh North
1041 Wake Towne Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: 919-821-3400
www.marriott.com

Previous Trips to N.C. State
Team A-Game made the trip in 2001, 2003 and 2005. 2001 and 2003 were unforgettable trips, ranking among our best tailgate/gameday experiences ever. Pack QB PhiLLLLip Rivers was always UM's Player of the Game in those days. 2005 also was a good time despite the loss. Our experience has been that Wolfpack fans aren't as welcoming as their neighbors in Chapel Hill, but they bring more energy to the stadium. A lot of the fans, in the lower bowl at least, stand for much of the game. Fans standing and cheering for their team at a college football game — imagine that!

Bring the Flag