I run a club called Patriots Tailgate for fans going to road games. We're expecting a large number of Pats fans to come out to the Pats at Broncos game on October 11 and are we are just getting started on planning a couple of events to get us Pats fans all together. I live in California and am not familiar with Denver so I am asking for your advice and help on a few topics.
Hotel - assuming that many of us are first-time visitors to Denver, would you recommend staying at one of the hotels right by the stadium such as VQ or Red Lion? Or are there better places to stay for the purposes of sight-seeing? I guess it comes down to a cost-benefit of not having to drive or pay parking on gameday vs. there being more to do and see in other areas of Denver so I appreciate your input. If a particular hotel sounds like a good choice, then I'll contact them and inquire about getting a discounted group rate.
Saturday Night Party - We'd like to find a location to have a party for us Pats fans the night before the game. It could be a sports bar, a Boston-themed place or any place that would accomodate 50-100 people in a fun, casual, family friendly setting. This party is a chance for us to meet new Pats fan friends, catch up with old ones and if things come together we'll try our best to get some folks from the Patriots organization to join us.
Tailgate Parking - In most NFL cities, tailgaters are anxious to get started ASAP meaning that there's a huge rush to get into the parking lots when they initially open (typically 4 hours prior to kick-off). Our strategy is typically to meet off-site at an open parking lot (of a business closed on Sundays) within a mile or two of the stadium and then caravan over together when the lots open. This allows us to enter the same gate entrance, stay and park together and claim our Patriots tailgate area. If anyone has suggestions for an off-site meeting location or specific area within the parking lots to tailgate at please let me know. The most important detail is determining which gate entrance will get us to our targeted location since most stadium parking lots don't allow you to just go anywhere.
Tailgate Food & Beverage - With tailgate parties this large (we've had 200-300 Pats fans at some road games last year) it's too difficult to coordinate a potluck so we usually just have everyone bring their own food and drink however if someone has a connection to a restaurant or would like to coordinate some kind of catering service we're open to that option.
Tickets - We've inquired about group tickets for this game and have been told that there are none available which basically means that we are on our own. However, in some cities there are sometimes promotions where they sell tickets as part of some kind of package in which case we could purchase a large number of tickets together though it is usually marked up quite a bit. If you come across any such opportunities please share that with us. Single game tickets go on sale on Saturday, 7/18 so that may be worth a shot.
If you have any other ideas, suggestions or concerns for this game and weekend, please let me know. I also invite you to join the Patriots Tailgate Yahoo Group to stay up to date with our planning.
PatsTG : Patriots Tailgate
Patriots at Broncos: 10/11/09
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