parking tips for minnesota gophers mens hockey vs. wisconsin badgers hockey at 3m arena at mariucci (minneapolis 01/30)

hey everyone, figured i'd share some parking advice for the gophers-badgers game on friday, 01/30, because honestly, parking on the university of minnesota campus for a big game is always a headache. for this game, since it's a friday night, you'll be hitting the worst of the twin cities end-of-week commuter traffic, so you need a plan.

first, and the best way to skip the whole mess, is using an app like Prked. seriously. you can rent a driveway or a garage from someone in the dinkytown neighborhood right next to 3m arena at mariucci. it's way cheaper than the official university lots, you get to skip all the chaos of trying to get into the big ramps, and you get a super short walk.

if you want to stick to the university of minnesota's official parking, the main single-game surface lot options around the stadium are the gold lot, ski-u-mah lot, and the victory lot, plus the gopher lot and lot 37. the closest ramps are the 4th street ramp (which is the recommended single-game location), the university avenue ramp, the oak street ramp, and the washington ave. ramp. a huge heads up: all these official facilities are credit/debit card only for event parking, no cash allowed.

traffic is going to be brutal, especially near the i-35w and university ave exit. event rates usually go into effect about two to three hours before the game, so aim to get there early to grab a decent spot before all the commuter traffic starts to pile up—better to be early and grab a bite than be stuck in gridlock. another smart move is to buy a prepaid parking pass online ahead of time if you can find one, which can save you a bunch of stress day-of.

if you don't mind a longer walk but want to avoid the total exit nightmare, a few reddit users suggest parking on the "other side of the football stadium". the church street garage and the washington ave. ramp are also good choices that keep you away from the worst of the main leaving rush, and they have solid access to i-94/35. if you want to bypass the high event rates entirely, park a little further at the east river road garage, weisman art museum garage, or the 19th avenue ramp, though that is a longer walk.

finally, don't forget metro transit, as it's a great alternative—you can park cheaper near a light rail station like fairview and ride it right in.

hope this helps and go gophers!