Parking at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium

Free

Free shuttle in from the Union area, or a walk from the D1 lot /// Saturdays

A Kansas State University parking permit is not required in lots labelled O, W, T or Z on Saturdays. That includes the large D1 lot to the west of the Student Union at Denison and Anderson Avenue, which is the one worth aiming for because it is big and it sits beside the free shuttle pickup. This is the cheapest verified way to a K-State game and it is published by the university's own alumni association rather than being a fan trick.

Heads up: The exemption is by lot letter and by day, so check the lot signage rather than assuming any campus lot is fair game on a Saturday. Detailed campus parking regulations are published separately and are the authority if a sign and a memory disagree.

Via k-state.com (The K-State Alumni Association publishes that a Kansas State University parking permit is not required in lots labelled O, W, T or Z on Saturdays, and names the large D1 lot to the west of the Student Union at Denison and Anderson Avenue as included.)

Stadium lot

At the Student Union, with the free shuttle leaving from there /// Garage hours

The Union garage is $1.50 an hour with a daily maximum of $12, which the alumni association notes is comparable to the independently rented lots around the stadium. There is a way to make it cheaper: eat at Union Station by JP's before or after the game and a $10 purchase earns a voucher for two free hours in the garage, valid at weekends and after 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Heads up: The $12 cap is the number to hold onto, because an hourly rate on a long gameday would otherwise be the expensive choice. If the free O, W, T and Z lots are open, this is the paid fallback rather than the first pick. For questions, Union marketing is on 785-532-6597 or unionpr@k-state.edu.

Via k-state.com (The K-State Alumni Association publishes the Union parking garage rate of $1.50 per hour with a $12 daily maximum, the comparison to independently rented lots near the stadium, the Union Station by JP's voucher for two free hours with a $10 purchase valid weekends and after 5 p.m. on weekdays, and the Union marketing contact details.)

Stadium lot

Around Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium /// 5 hours before the announced kick time

The lots immediately around the stadium mostly run on season or single game permits bought in advance, and they open five hours before the announced kickoff time. That five hour figure is the one to plan a tailgate around if you hold a permit.

Heads up: We could not find K-State publishing a rate for these on a page we could read, so confirm before assuming a price. Note also that kickoff times are announced rather than fixed, so a five hour opening is relative and moves with the television window.

Reported by fans, with no official page confirming it. That stadium lots mostly require season or single game permits purchased in advance and open five hours before the announced kick time is reported in K-State gameday coverage. No official rate could be located on a K-State page, so none is quoted here.

Community lot

Varies by street, within the area bounded below /// Home football gamedays

This is unusual enough to be worth stating carefully. The City of Manhattan formally permits property owners in a designated area to allow temporary front yard parking on Kansas State home football gamedays. The permitted area is bounded by Browning Avenue on the west, Claflin Road on the south, Denison Avenue on the east and the city limits on the north. The city introduced it to address congestion, access and safety concerns raised by residents, so it is a sanctioned arrangement rather than something tolerated.

Heads up: The permission belongs to the property owner and the defined area, not to you. It applies on streets limited to parking on one side where owners have existing access from the street, and on properties with access to a four lane street. Outside that area it is not permitted, and the city separately tow-zones a long list of named streets on gamedays, so a wrong guess is a tow rather than a ticket.

Via manhattanks.gov (The City of Manhattan publishes the temporary front yard parking allowance for Kansas State home football gamedays, the boundaries of the permitted area as Browning Avenue west, Claflin Road south, Denison Avenue east and the city limits north, the conditions about one-side streets and four-lane access, and the reasoning about congestion, access and safety.)

Offsite lot

Not applicable /// Gameday

Manhattan publishes an explicit list of streets where parking is prohibited and tow zones are established on gamedays, which is more useful than a general warning because you can check it against where you are thinking of leaving the car. It covers the south side of Hobbs Drive from College Avenue to Kenmar Drive, the south side of Himes Road, the south side of Vaughn Drive, the west side of Ranser Road, the south side of Cassell Road, the west side of Kenmar Drive, the west side of Winne Drive, the north sides of Sunny Circle and Meade Circle, the west side of Parkway Drive, both stretches of Hillview Drive, parts of Snowbird Drive and all of Skyler Circle.

Heads up: These are side-specific, which is exactly how people get caught: the south side of a street can be a tow zone while the north side is fine. The restrictions remain in effect following all home games, not only before them, so a car left after the game is still exposed. The Riley County Police Department publishes a traffic direction map for leaving.

Via manhattanks.gov (The City of Manhattan publishes the full list of streets and sides where parking is prohibited and tow zones are established on gamedays, states the restrictions remain in effect following all home games, and points to the Riley County Police Department traffic direction map for departure.)