Kroger Field: Guide for Visiting Fans

Blue Grass Airport (LEX) sits about 6 miles west of downtown Lexington , which puts it roughly 8–10 miles from the stadium via rideshare — figure 20–25 minutes in normal traffic, longer on game day. A rideshare from LEX to Kroger Field will typically run $18–28; budget for surge pricing on the return if you're leaving right at the final whistle.

Lexington has no light rail or subway. Your transit option is Lextran, the city bus system. On home football Saturdays, Lextran runs game-day service, with pickup points including High Street at Rupp Arena and a stop at the corner of University Drive and Complex Drive, near Parking Structure #1 northwest of Kroger Field. Route 27 (UK Yellow) detours on home football game Saturdays to serve the stadium. You can ride Lextran's football shuttles for $1 each way, with service running from downtown and Virginia Avenue to the stadium. It's not glamorous, but it's cheap and it drops you directly into the complex. Lextran's Route 14 (the UK Blue and White routes), Route 5, Route 16, and the Route 27 UK Yellow all serve stops close to Kroger Field.

Driving in from the east (I-75/I-64 corridor), take Exit 104 (Athens/Lexington), turn left onto Athens Boonesboro Road, then left at the intersection of Richmond Road and Man O' War, follow Man O' War to Alumni Drive, turn right, follow Alumni Drive through the Tates Creek intersection, and Kroger Field is on the right. Coming from the north, take Exit 113 (Paris/Lexington), turn right onto N. Broadway (US-68), continue through downtown about 6 miles, then left onto Waller Avenue alongside St. Joseph Hospital, over the railroad tracks and through the light at Nicholasville Road to Cooper Drive — Kroger Field is on the right.

For rideshare, request your car from a cross street at least two blocks off Alumni Drive rather than right at the stadium entrance. The pickup surge is real and so is the wait time in the immediate lot area.

Transit: The Lextran game-day shuttles run post-game back to downtown and Virginia Avenue pickup points. Expect a 20–40 minute wait after the final whistle as everyone funnels to the same stops; if you can wait 30 minutes inside the stadium (grab a water, walk the concourse), the lines thin noticeably. The shuttle drops you at Rupp Arena/downtown, from which you can walk to most hotels.

Driving: Traffic is heavy once you're on city streets, but the university has a well-conceived traffic control plan. Up-to-the-minute traffic information is available at 1700 AM. Alumni Drive is the main artery and it will be a parking lot for 30–45 minutes post-game regardless of which lot you're in. The cleanest exit is via Cooper Drive heading north to Nicholasville Road for southbound departures, or cut through campus toward Limestone Street for anyone heading downtown or north. Wait at least 25–30 minutes after the final whistle before you even try to move your car — the lots closest to the stadium simply don't move until foot traffic clears.

Rideshare: Surge pricing is real and can hit 2.0–2.5x within the first 20 minutes after the game. Your single best move: walk 8–10 minutes toward campus away from the stadium (toward the WT Young Library or Limestone Street), request your ride there, and you'll cut wait time in half and likely avoid the worst of the surge. Do not stand on Alumni Drive staring at your phone — you'll be there for an hour.

Opinionated tip: Leave with about 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter if your team is comfortably ahead or well behind. You'll be in your car before the crowds even form, and on a moving road within 15 minutes. If the game is close, stay — but know the exit cost.

The parking areas nearest the stadium are reserved for season ticket holders and major donors. If you're coming with a single-game ticket, you need a plan. Reserved single-game parking is located at the William T. Young Library lots at the corner of Woodland Avenue and Columbia Avenue. These will run you around $30–50 for a reserved spot based on recent seasons — the accessible lot at this same location costs $50 per vehicle, card only.

Free on-campus parking is available at lots #2 (near the WT Young Library), #3 (the Kentucky Clinic), or #6 (at the corner of Virginia and Press Avenues). These are walkable if you don't mind 15–20 minutes on foot — which, on a good fall afternoon in Lexington, isn't a bad thing. Shuttles are also available from downtown Lexington from the Shops at Civic Center (430 West Vine) and the Lextran Transit Center (150 East Vine) for $5 round trip, or $2 from the on-campus locations.

Parking permits must be purchased in advance online — do not show up expecting to buy a spot at the gate. UK Athletics strongly encourages fans to save their parking permits to their phone's digital wallet before arriving, since parking permits are scanned at lot entry. Arrive at least 90 minutes before kickoff; Alumni Drive gets congested, so aim for 3+ hours early if you want to tailgate without chaos.

The two best neighborhoods to book are downtown Lexington and Chevy Chase. Downtown is roughly 1.5 miles from the stadium — walkable if you're in the mood, easy rideshare otherwise — and puts you in the center of the pregame bar scene on Main Street and Jefferson Street. You'll find the Hilton Lexington Downtown and Holiday Inn Express Downtown within that zone, typically running $150–220/night on game weekends. The Holiday Inn Express Downtown and Hilton Lexington Downtown are among the closest and most reasonable lodging options near UK.

Chevy Chase is the upscale residential neighborhood just a mile south of campus, with restaurants right on the neighborhood strip, quieter than downtown, and often slightly cheaper on hotel rates. If you'd rather not fight the Uber surge post-game from downtown, Chevy Chase is more walkable back to campus and easier for rideshare pickup after the crowds thin.

Avoid booking way out on Richmond Road or near Hamburg Pavilion — the hotels are cheaper but the traffic getting back in for game time is a genuine problem.

KSBar & Grille (University Ave., less than a mile from the stadium): The most obvious away-fan trap if you're not paying attention — this is a Kentucky Sports bar co-owned by former UK players, wall-to-wall blue, and absolutely packed on game day. Go anyway. It's fun to watch the crowd, the wings are decent, and the beer comes fast. Just know you're walking into enemy territory.

Halligans (Euclid Ave.): A local's bar on the Euclid strip near campus, grittier than KSBar, cheaper, and a better place to find a real conversation. Gets loud, gets packed on Saturdays, and that's the point.

Carson's Food & Drink (Main Street, downtown): Reviewers call it a "best decision all day" — everything is quality. Elevated Southern comfort food with a solid bourbon list. If you want to eat well before the game and not just shovel in wings, this is your spot. Make a reservation; it fills up on game weekends.

Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. (Manchester Street): Home of Town Branch bourbon and Town Branch beer — this is the real deal for a pre-game stop. Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. is one of the top attractions near Kroger Field. Tours run on weekends, but if you just want a pint of Kentucky Ale in Lexington before watching football, it doesn't get more locally appropriate than this.

Beyond the surrounding establishments, Kroger Field itself offers plenty of food and drink options for fans inside.

Kentucky began selling alcohol at home games in 2023, and that continues — beer and seltzer products are available throughout the stadium with a limit of two per transaction, ID required, and sales cut off at the end of the third quarter. Expect to pay around $9–11 for a domestic/craft beer and $5–7 for basic food items; credit cards are accepted at most concession stands and merchandise locations, and Kroger Field is not a cashless venue , so cash works fine too. The complimentary water stations are a legitimately useful perk on a warm September afternoon.

The SEC's clear bag policy is in place at Kroger Field. Each fan may carry one large clear bag — either a one-gallon Ziploc-style bag or a 12″×6″×12″ clear bag — plus a small clutch not exceeding 4.5″×6.5″. No backpacks, including clear backpacks, are permitted. That last part trips people up every year — a clear backpack still gets confiscated. Bring a clear tote or a gallon zip-lock and you'll sail through.

The Kroger Field ticket office, located between gates 9 and 10, opens four hours before kickoff and closes five minutes into the third quarter. Gates for general admission open 90 minutes before kickoff. All ticketing is mobile — UK Athletics has fully transitioned to mobile ticketing, so save your tickets to Apple Wallet or Google Pay before you arrive. Screenshots won't scan.

The Cat Walk starts two hours before kickoff at Gate 1 — fans line Talbott Todd Way to watch the players enter the stadium. Visiting fans can watch from the periphery; it's a good atmosphere even if you're rooting against the home team.

Complimentary water is available on both the lower and upper concourse — large water tanks with cups provided — so bring an empty reusable bottle or just use the free stations.

Fans with a valid state-issued handicap hang tag can park in the single-game reserved lots at the corner of Woodland Ave and Columbia Ave near the William T. Young Library. The lot holds 206 vehicles, operates first-come, first-served, costs $50 per vehicle (card only), and a shuttle runs from these lots to drop off near Gate 6 of Kroger Field.

All campus buses serving the stadium are ADA-compliant. Inside the stadium, ADA wheelchair seating is distributed throughout the bowl at accessible concourse levels, and elevators connect the lower and upper concourses. There are six family restrooms located throughout the stadium — on the lower concourse near sections 4 and 24 and on the upper concourse near sections 20, 40, 204, and 224 — plus a nursing mothers' suite inside Gate 2. Assistive listening devices are available through guest services; contact UK Athletics in advance to confirm availability and pickup location for your specific game.

There is no dedicated permanent away section at Kroger Field, so visiting fans are distributed across whatever seats their respective school's ticket allocation lands in — typically somewhere in the upper deck end zones (sections 220–230 range) or tucked into the lower corners. If you're buying on the secondary market, the upper deck in sections 218–224 offers a genuinely decent high-angle view and tends to be where visiting fan clusters form organically.

Once inside, fans will notice much wider concourses and renovated concession and restroom facilities. Seating comfort has been greatly enhanced with the addition of bench back seating on the lower levels and 2,000 new club-level seats. If you're buying your own tickets, the lower sideline in sections 10–18 (west side, midfield) gives you the best sightlines in the building. Avoid the far end-zone corners in the lower bowl — the angles are awkward and you'll spend half the game looking at the back of the student section.

Away fans venturing into Kroger Field should prepare for a vastly different and more challenging experience.

Kentucky fans are, on balance, among the more welcoming fan bases in the SEC — not soft, but not the hostile gauntlet you'll get in certain other Southeastern stadiums. At a Georgia at Kentucky game, one visitor reported that "the stadium was very nice, the concessions were great, and the fan base was very welcoming." That tracks. Come in your team's colors, be respectful, and most Wildcat fans will give you a fair shake. Where it gets loud is inside the bowl — since 1999, fireworks have been shot from atop the suites whenever the Wildcats take the field, as well as after every Wildcat score and win, and in a tightened 61,000-seat bowl that can rattle you if you're not ready for it. One thing that catches away fans off-guard: the stadium is literally surrounded by university experimental farm fields and horse pastures, so walking in from the perimeter lots feels oddly pastoral for an SEC football venue — then you turn the corner and it's suddenly just blue everywhere.

Is there a subway or light rail to Kroger Field? No. Lexington has only bus service , operated by Lextran. On game days, Lextran runs dedicated football shuttle buses for $1 each way from downtown and Virginia Avenue.

What is the Kroger Field bag policy?

Each fan may carry one large clear bag — a one-gallon Ziploc-style bag or a 12″×6″×12″ clear bag — plus a small clutch not exceeding 4.5″×6.5″. No backpacks of any kind, clear or otherwise.

What time do gates open?

The ticket office between gates 9 and 10 opens four hours before kickoff. General stadium gates open approximately 90 minutes before kickoff.

How much does parking cost?

The accessible reserved lot costs $50 per vehicle. General single-game reserved lots run roughly $30–50. Free parking is available at on-campus lots #2, #3, and #6 with a 15–20 minute walk.

Is Kroger Field cashless?

Credit cards are accepted at most concession stands and merchandise locations. Kroger Field is not a cashless venue , so cash is also accepted.

Where is the best seating for away fans? There is no designated away section. Visiting fans typically cluster in the upper-deck end zones (sections 218–230). For the best sightlines, lower sideline sections 10–18 on the west side are the sweet spot.

What airport should I fly into?

Blue Grass Airport (LEX) is about 6 miles west of downtown Lexington and is the obvious choice. It's a small, easy airport — plan about 20–25 minutes to the stadium by rideshare.

Can I bring food or drinks into the stadium? No outside food or beverages. However, complimentary water is available on both the lower and upper concourse — four large water tanks with cups provided — so bring an empty reusable bottle.