parking tips for university at buffalo bulls mens basketball vs. ohio university bobcats mens basketball at alumni arena (buffalo ny 01/31)

hey everyone, figured i'd share some parking tips for the bulls vs bobcats game on wednesday, 01/31 at 2:00 pm. a weekday afternoon tip-off like this makes parking a little trickier than a weekend game because the campus is still in full swing, so expect some crowds and traffic chaos especially right before and after the game.

to skip the headache entirely, i honestly recommend checking out Prked. it's the app for renting driveways and garages from people in the neighborhoods right next to campus, like those houses off sweet home road. you can usually find a spot way cheaper than some official lots, and you get to bypass all the bottleneck traffic coming off millersport highway completely, plus it's a short, easy walk to alumni arena.

if you're going for the official on-campus lots, the first thing to know is that the lots directly next to the arena-like arena lot, alumni a, and lake la salle-are mostly reserved for donors and people with special hangtags, and they close them for the public hours before the 2:00 pm tip-off, so don't even bother trying those unless you have a credential.

the closest lot the general public can use is the slee lot, which you get to by the coventry road entrance. they open the gates at 1:00 pm, which is 60 minutes before tip-off, so if you want one of those close spots you need to be there right when the gates open because it fills up crazy fast. the good news is that general public parking is usually free for game days, but since the game starts before 3:00 pm on a weekday, you might see attendants or a small nominal fee applied, so just be prepared.

here's the real insider pro tip if you want to avoid sitting in your car for an hour after the game: don't park in the lots closest to the arena. instead, aim for the furnas lot or the jarvis a and b lots. it's a little longer walk, maybe 7 to 9 minutes, but you'll get out of campus so much faster. to get to those back lots, use the hamilton entrance off the john james audubon parkway or the entrance from rensch road instead of the main coventry road entrance off millersport, as that is where all the bottleneck traffic will be coming from.

you can also find metered parking enforced until 8 p.m. in the alumni a lot (behind the arena) and the baird b lot, which you can pay for using parkmobile or coin. the fronczak lot also offers paid visitor parking, which is $3 after 1:00 pm.

for accessible parking, the slee b lot is typically held for holders of accessible parking permits, and the coventry entrance is generally the best way to access those lots.

as you're driving in, you can tune your radio to 1620 am for campus news and traffic reports, which can sometimes give you a heads up on congestion.

hope this helps and go bulls!