Parking at Jack Trice Stadium

Free

Varies, the Research Park is south of Highway 30 along Airport Road /// Gameday

Iowa State names three free options outright: the ISU Research Park south of Highway 30 along Airport Road, ordinary campus parking lots, and the neighbourhoods near Jack Trice Stadium. That is an unusually generous list, and it is published on the athletics parking page rather than passed around by locals.

Heads up: Tailgating is not permitted at any of the three, which Iowa State states directly. In the neighbourhoods, follow the posted regulations, because improperly parked vehicles may be ticketed or towed. Note also that overnight parking is not permitted in any donor or public lot before or after games, and putting equipment out to save stalls before your vehicle arrives is not allowed either, with anything set out before the lots open liable to removal.

Via cyclones.com (Iowa State Athletics publishes the free parking options as the ISU Research Park south of Highway 30 along Airport Road, campus parking lots and neighbourhoods near Jack Trice Stadium, states that tailgating is not permitted at any of these, warns that improperly parked vehicles in neighbourhoods may be ticketed or towed, and publishes the bans on overnight parking and on saving stalls with equipment.)

Stadium lot

Along South 16th Street, south of the stadium /// Gameday

The public grass lots along South 16th Street are the route to a tailgate for people outside the donor system. Passes are sold online only, and once there you choose which grass lot to use on arrival subject to availability, with staff guiding vehicles so the lot fills efficiently. Tailgating is allowed behind your parking stall as long as the drive lanes stay clear.

Heads up: The deadline is the thing to remember: pre-sale is online only and stops at noon on the Friday before each game, or earlier if passes sell out, and Iowa State says plainly that for most games the public grass passes sell out in advance. There is no gameday walk-up for these. Iowa State does not publish the price on its parking page, so check at purchase.

Via cyclones.com (Iowa State Athletics publishes that public grass parking lots south of the stadium along South 16th Street are purchased online, that pre-sale is online only and ceases at noon the Friday before each game or when passes sell out, that for most games they sell out in advance, that patrons choose a grass lot on arrival based on availability and are guided to a specific area, and that tailgating is allowed behind the parking stall with drive lanes kept clear. No rate is published there.)

Stadium lot

The paved and grass lots nearest the stadium /// 7 a.m. or 6 hours before kickoff, whichever is earlier, for weekend games

Every lot close to the stadium is a donor lot. Lots 85E, S8, S7, S6, S5, S3 and S2 give reserved numbered stalls held until kickoff. Lots A3 to A5, B1, B3 to B5, C1 and C2, C3 to C5 and D3 to D5 are first come within the specific lot you are assigned. Lot G6 is gravel with stalls painted into it, and VetMed works the same way. Tailgating is allowed between your stall and the red painted line and nowhere beyond it.

Heads up: There is a hard vehicle limit across all of these: your vehicle must be a car, pickup truck or SUV no longer than 24 feet, and pull-behind trailers or smokers are prohibited. If your tailgate is built around a towed smoker, none of these lots will take it. Cyclone Club is on cyclub@iastate.edu or 515-294-5022.

Via cyclones.com (Iowa State Athletics publishes the full donor lot lists and how each behaves, the reserved numbered stalls held until kickoff, the red painted line rule for tailgating, the 24 foot vehicle limit and prohibition on pull-behind trailers or smokers, that all listed lots require an annual Cyclone Club contribution, and the Cyclone Club contact details.)

Stadium lot

Paved stalls south of the stadium /// When donor lots open

Accessible parking is in paved stalls south of the stadium for holders of a state issued handicapped parking permit, first come first served, with staff guiding you to a specific stall. It opens when the donor lots open rather than on its own schedule.

Heads up: Two things are firm. Payment is on arrival by credit card only, Visa, MasterCard or Discover, and accessible parking cannot be arranged in advance at any price. And the rate rises for the Iowa game, from $40 to $60, which is the only game-specific price Iowa State publishes. No RV parking is available in the accessible areas.

Via cyclones.com (Iowa State Athletics publishes that ADA parking is available to holders of a state issued handicapped parking permit on a first come first served basis in paved stalls south of the stadium, that vehicles are guided to a stall, that it opens when donor lots open, that payment is on arrival at $40 per vehicle and $60 for the Iowa game by Visa, MasterCard or Discover, that it cannot be arranged in advance, and that no RV parking is available in those areas.)

Stadium lot

Research Park is south of Highway 30; RV Village is at the stadium /// RV Village opens Friday 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.

This is the split worth understanding. Public RV parking at the ISU Research Park south of Highway 30 along Airport Road costs nothing at all. RV Village at the stadium is a Cyclone Club donor lot and is a proper facility: reserved numbered stalls 55 feet long, 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical hookups at every stall, and grass tailgating space next to each one. It opens for entry on the Friday before home games from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. and reopens Saturday when donor car lots open.

Heads up: The free Research Park option has no tailgating, no restroom facilities and no rubbish dumpsters, so it is somewhere to leave an RV rather than somewhere to spend the day. RV Village has no water service and no dumping station either despite the hookups, and RVs must depart on Sunday morning.

Via cyclones.com (Iowa State Athletics publishes that public RV parking at the ISU Research Park south of Highway 30 along Airport Road has no cost, permits no tailgating and has no restroom facilities or dumpsters, and publishes RV Village's Friday 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. entry, Saturday reopening with donor lots, 55 foot reserved numbered stalls, 20, 30 and 50 amp hookups at every stall, adjacent grass tailgating space, Sunday morning departure, the absence of water service or a dumping station, and the Cyclone Club requirement.)