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Nebraska at Virginia Tech: A Vistor's Guide to Blacksburg

Hi folks, I'm furrer4heisman from SB Nation's VT blog, Gobbler Country. Your very own corn blight asked if I would provide a vistor's guide for Husker fans making the trek to the 'Burg. He was kind enough to do the same for me last year before the Hokies paid a visit to Lincoln so I'm happy to return the favor.

I'm sure most of you making the trip already have hotel reservations (and if you got them within 100 miles of Blacksburg, congratulations!) so I'll just move on to what you should do and see this weekend in Blacksburg.

Star-divide

Parking and Tailgating

There are two good parking options for visitors who didn't finagle a parking pass from the VT Athletics Fund. If you don't have an RV or you aren't planning to tailgate, your best option is the public lot, which is located Northwest of VT's campus on Price's Fork Rd. It's pretty cheap (last year it was something like $10) but is a pretty long haul to the stadium.

If you have an RV or you are looking to tailgate, the best option isn't on campus. Just South of campus on Tech Center Dr. is the airport's parking lot. It's a large grass lot that's perfect for tailgating. It's where I park and it's where my tailgating group resides on game weekend. You're also able to park there overnight both Friday and Saturday. Last year it was around $10 for cars, but more for RVs. Again, it's a decent trek to the stadium but it's worth it if you want to tailgate. To get to this lot, go East on Southgate Dr. off of the 460 Bypass. Go South on Tech Center Dr. when you get to the intersection of Southgate and Spring Rd./Tech Center. You'll pass the media lot on your right and the airport lot will be on your left. I've provided a map.

Vt_airport_lot_medium

Man, that is one sexy map. The best part about this lot is you're not subject to the constant harassment of Virginia Tech's parking lot enforcement gestapo. Our AD, Jim Weaver, hates tailgaters and tailgating and has gone out of his way to make sure they have a bad experience when parking in one of the VTAF lots. If you're looking to actually enjoy your gameday tailgating, go here.

And if you see a bunch of guys tailgating around an old silver Airstream, tell them Ryan from Oklahoma sent you. You might get a shot of bourbon out of it.

Restaurants

I haven't been to many restaurants in Blacksburg, but the one I frequent most is Backstreet's Pizza. It's got a decent buffet and isn't overpriced. It's downtown on the corner of Main St. and Lee St. Another one that others have recommended to me is Bull and Bones Brewhaus and Grill. It's on the corner of Main and Ardmore, farther South and away from downtown from Backstreet's.

Bars

Now this I have a little more experience with. I never make a trip to Blacksburg without going to Top of the Stairs. It's on College Ave., catty-corner from Virginia Tech's student union. Go in and order a "Rail". It's basically every liquor they have behind the bar mixed together with a splash of grenadine. It's delicious. On gameday, I've usually had at least one before Noon.

There's also Hokie House, which is downtown on the corner of Main St. and College Ave. You can't miss it since it's painted orange and maroon. It's another great college bar with fantastic gameday atmosphere. Decent burgers, too.

Alcohol

If you're looking to buy booze in the 'Burg, you'll have to buy it from a VABC store. Only the state can sell you hard liquor and the only place to do that is in downtown Blacksburg at Main and Roanoke in the Gables Shopping Center. Beer you can get from any grocery store, but particularly at Kroger. Kroger. An official parter of Virginia Tech athletics.

Campus

Just about every building on Virginia Tech's campus is built using Hokie stone, which is a kind of limestone unique to Southwest Virginia. The good thing about it is it makes every building look magnificent. The bad news is it makes them all look the same. However, the three most distinctive buildings on campus are Burruss Hall, the main building on the Drill Field, War Memorial chapel, at the Northeast corner of the Drill Field and Torgersen Bridge, just to the Northeast of the chapel.

The Memorial

The memorial to the 32 Hokies killed on April 16, 2007, is located on the Drillfield in front of Burruss Hall. Burruss is the main administrative building on campus and has the U.S. and Commonwealth of Virginia flags flying in front of it. The memorial is a stirring tribute to the victims of that day.

Questions

If you have any questions about Virginia Tech of Blacksburg, don't hesitate to ask them in the comments or e-mail me at gobblercountry-at-gmail-dot-com. Have fun and Go Hokies! If you're heading to the 'Burg this weekend be sure to drink a Rail for me.

This FanPost created by a registered user of Corn Nation.

3 recs  |  Comment 9 comments |

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i did not realize

that it was that difficult to purchase liquor in the state of virginia. wow.

Go Big Red Nebraska!
Our Cobs Are Bigger Than Yours!
Corn Nation!
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by corn blight on Sep 14, 2009 11:30 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

haha

i think i made it sound like the only vabc store in the state was in blacksburg. its just the only one in town. although if there was going to be only one place in virginia to sell booze, you’d have to put it in blacksburg.

A bullhorn, a bottle of whiskey and a dream. GobblerCountry.com

by furrer4heisman on Sep 14, 2009 2:12 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

is it

that way because of some puritannical heritage or because the state wants to control to due to revenue and taxes?

Go Big Red Nebraska!
Our Cobs Are Bigger Than Yours!
Corn Nation!
Twitter!
cornnation@gmail.com

by corn blight on Sep 14, 2009 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

no clue man

im from oklahoma. i know its the same way in massachusetts. when we go play BC i have to find a packey (packaging store) before the game.

A bullhorn, a bottle of whiskey and a dream. GobblerCountry.com

by furrer4heisman on Sep 14, 2009 3:21 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

It's not too big of a hastle because there are a lot of them

and it’s not like you can buy liquor at grocery stores in most states anyway. You still have to go to a specialty store, it’s just that VA’s is government run.

by Texas Wahoo on Sep 14, 2009 5:27 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I posted this over at Big Red Network as well, but figured it was worth reposting:
I’m really excited for this game-Nebraska has some of the best fans in the country and it should be a fun game to watch. Anybody coming to Blacksburg for the game, feel free to ask us Hokie fans where to go, stay, etc. We’ll be sure to return the favor for the excellent treatment last year.

by thehoagster07 on Sep 15, 2009 4:37 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

thanks

Go Big Red Nebraska!
Our Cobs Are Bigger Than Yours!
Corn Nation!
Twitter!
cornnation@gmail.com

by corn blight on Sep 15, 2009 11:15 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Nice city

Blacksburg is a beautiful city with a great campus and stadium as well. The memorial to the students who were killed was beautiful and very moving as well. Love the drill field! We parked at PK’s for a couple hours before game time. The folks were friendly and the food was good.

by babaandgal on Sep 22, 2009 11:24 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

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