ATLANTA — One of LSU or Oklahoma will play for the national title this year - who gets to do so will be determined in Atlanta on Saturday.
The teams face off in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in the National College Football Playoff Semifinal. If you're in town from Louisiana or Oklahoma (or anywhere else!) here's some helpful info on making the most of your Atlanta stay:
The basics
- Who: LSU and Oklahoma
- What: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
- Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- When: Saturday, 4 p.m. kickoff
- TV: ESPN
- Tickets: Plenty of tickets are available on the official resale market at Ticketmaster, starting at $115 on the low end. They can be found even cheaper on third-party sites like StubHub.
What you need to know
If you're here for the first time, what you'll probably want to know is how to get around - and, fair warning, Atlanta is kind of notoriously difficult to get around.
- Parking: There are lots scattered throughout downtown, some literally in the backyard of the stadium and others a mile or farther away. The Peach Bowl is officially partnered with ParkMobile, a fairly easy-to-use app that lets you pay for parking at most Atlanta hot spots. Map it out exactly how you'd like, because there's a wide range of availability and costs - from as little as $8 to nearly $70.
- If you're parking, be early: Downtown Atlanta can get pretty congested for big events, with limited routes available through surface streets and and other major tourist draws like the World of Coca-Cola and Georgia Aquarium nearby. It can take a while to get even a short distance in a car. You'll get into downtown and think you're nearly there: You won't be.
- If you're taking an Uber or Lyft, also be early: Same deal. It won't be any easier for a rideshare driver to navigate the congestion, and often times it can be extremely difficult to get right up the stadium. If you do take a ride, you might want to consider getting out at Centennial Olympic Park, enjoying a bit of the scene, and walking about a mile the rest of the way.
- Or just take MARTA!: Atlanta may have a somewhat poor reputation for public transportation, but it's really, really good for getting to the stadium. The Blue and Green lines drop you right off at the Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center stop (which, yes, is an outdated name they're working to update). The cost of a MARTA one-way trip is $2.50.
What else is going on
- Tailgates: There are a bunch, including the Peach Bowl's Official MVP Tailgate ($240 buys you entry plus a game ticket), a pre-game party at Terminus 330 (a range of entry price points, starting at about $40), to the Restaurant 10 party (starting at $30) to The Gulch tailgate ($50). Search around, see if something fits the bill for you.
- Bars: The bar scene around the stadium is not extensive, so if you're looking for a bit of gameday atmosphere you might want to consider areas like Buckhead, Midtown, the Westside, Inman Park/Old Fourth Ward or Sweet Auburn.
- Fan events: There aren't a ton officially associated with the game, but there is a fan night at the Georgia Aquarium the night before, a gameday parade and a fanfest.
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