Can't miss
- Sparty The bronze Spartan statue on campus is the photo, and before the Michigan game students guard it around the clock.
- Farm Lane's painted rock Student groups repaint it constantly, so it's never the same rock twice.
Quick answers
What time do the Michigan State lots open?
7 a.m. for kickoffs before 6 p.m., and 11 a.m. for kickoffs at 6 p.m. or later. Friday games run later: for the 2026 Friday games, select donor lots opened at 11 a.m. and the rest at 2 p.m. MSU won't let traffic line up before the lots open.
Can you grill at Michigan State tailgates?
Yes, under MSU's fire rules: a container no wider than 30 inches, 10 feet from tents, cars and trees, 30 feet from buildings, never in a parking ramp, with someone 18 or older watching it and an ABC extinguisher 5 feet away. Hot coals never go in a dumpster, on the ground or in your car.
Can you drink at Michigan State tailgates?
On home game days MSU suspends its open-container ban for fans of legal drinking age while the lots are open. It still applies on the walkways right next to Spartan Stadium and inside campus buildings, and East Lansing city streets don't allow open containers at all. Kegs and drinking-game setups are banned.
Do you need a ticket to tailgate at Michigan State?
MSU's tailgating rules don't ask for one: tailgating is allowed in all public parking areas on campus, and the Fan Fest on Munn Field is free. You need a parking pass to park, and everyone needs a ticket to get into Spartan Stadium.
How do you buy parking at Michigan State?
Season priority passes go to Spartan Athletic Foundation donors. Everyone else can buy public game-day parking in the campus lots, park at Lot 89 or the MSU Pavilion and ride the free shuttle, or buy a single-game Munn Tailgate pass on msuspartans.com.
Where to park
Donor lots ring the stadium, but MSU sells public game-day parking across campus, and every public lot allows tailgating.
- Donor lots
- Season priority passes in lots like 61, 62, 79 and 124 go to Spartan Athletic Foundation donors. Passes are digital.
- Public lots
- Game-day parking in public lots and ramps, including Cherry Lane, Ramps 1, 3, 5 and 6, and Lots 7, 9 and 47.
- Munn Tailgate
- Single-game passes for Munn Field: a parking space plus a grass space. The public can buy 2 per game, for up to 3 games.
- Shuttle lots
- Lot 89 at Mt. Hope Road and Farm Lane, and the MSU Pavilion. The free shuttle starts 2 hours before kickoff.
- RV / bus
- Lot 203 at the MSU Pavilion, first come, first served. Oversized trucks have to park in RV parking too.
- Accessible
- Lot 48 by the Natural Resources Building, off Red Cedar or Farm Lane, with a shuttle to the stadium's northeast corner.
Save your digital parking pass before you reach campus. MSU checks it at checkpoints, and screenshots won't scan.
Cars can't park on grass north of the Red Cedar River. South of it, only the designated grass areas.
No pass? Park at Lot 89 or the MSU Pavilion south of campus and take the free shuttle, which starts 2 hours before kickoff. Text SPARTANFB26 to 888777 for MSU Police traffic and parking updates.
The rules
Rules last verified Oct 14, 2026 against msuspartans.com, trustees.msu.edu and cata.org.
MSU spells its rules out plainly. These are the ones that change what you pack.
- Grills
- Fire containers up to 30 inches across, 10 feet from tents, cars and trees, 30 feet from buildings. Never in a ramp. ABC extinguisher 5 feet away.
- Coals
- Never in a dumpster or on the ground, and never back in your car hot.
- Alcohol
- Open containers are OK in the lots for 21 and over while they're open. Not on the walkways next to the stadium, in buildings or on city streets.
- Tents
- 10 x 10 feet or smaller.
- Not allowed
- Couches and upholstered furniture, kegs, drinking-game setups, trailers of any kind (pig roasters too) and drones.
- Smoking
- No tobacco anywhere on campus, at any time.
- Your pass
- Digital only. Have it saved before you arrive, and expect checkpoints.
- Bags at the gate
- Clear, up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches, or a 1-gallon freezer bag, plus a clutch up to 4.5 x 6.5 inches.
- Gates open
- 1.5 hours before kickoff. Students, club seats and suites 2 hours. No re-entry.
Before you go
MSU football tailgating informationMSU football parking informationThe Munn TailgateMSU guidelines for fires in tailgating areas (Ordinance 19.00)2026 Spartan football parking mapOfficial pages. Rules change; check them the week of the game.
Pack for East Lansing
What we'd bring.
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Ultralight Tall-Back Camp Chair
$45
Ships free
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55 qt Hard Cooler, 60 Cans
$299
Ships free
One cooler for the whole crew parked at the car: about 60 cans on ice.
More for this lot
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Monument G22 Tabletop Gas Grill, 2 Burners$199 · Ships free
-
Scorezit Cornhole Scorekeeper Set$140 · +$15 shipping
November games in East Lansing get cold. Bring layers, a hat and gloves.
Gear for Michigan State fans
In stock now.
Where the party is
Michigan State lets you tailgate in every public lot on campus, and the Munn Field crowd gets a patch of grass with each parking space. Next door, the free Fan Fest runs from 3 hours out until kickoff.
The grass
The Munn Tailgate
Each single-game Munn Field pass comes with a parking space and a designated grass space. Passes go out the week of the game, once MSU checks the weather.
The free one
The Fan Fest on Munn Field
Free and open to all ages from 3 hours before kickoff until kickoff: a DJ, yard games, band warmups and local food trucks.
The moment
The Spartan Walk
The team leaves the Kellogg Center, crosses the Red Cedar, passes Old College Field, tosses a penny at the Spartan statue and heads down Red Cedar Road into the tunnel, about 2.5 hours before kickoff.
What to eat
Grills are welcome inside MSU's fire rules, so the lots cook for real. Bring the extinguisher and a safe spot for coals to cool.
Cook thisGreek chicken thighsGetting out
Spartan Stadium empties into the middle of campus. Your options, best first:
- Ride the shuttle back. The Lot 89 and Pavilion shuttle keeps running for a while after the game, MSU says.
- Watch your phone. MSU Police send traffic updates if you text SPARTANFB26 to 888777.
- Plan around the buses. CATA routes near campus stay on detour until 2 hours after the game.
Skip this
Hit the road at the final whistle. With the rest of the stadium. Pack your patience.
First time here?
- Lots open at 7 a.m. for day games and 11 a.m. for 6 p.m. or later. Don't line up early.
- Save your digital parking pass before you get to campus.
- Tents 10 x 10 or smaller. No kegs, no couches, no trailers.
- Grilling? Bring an ABC extinguisher and keep it 5 feet from the fire.
- Open containers stop at the walkways next to the stadium and at the city line.
- Clear bag only: 12 x 6 x 12 inches or a 1-gallon freezer bag, plus a small clutch.
Visiting? How to join a tailgate
Every public lot on campus allows tailgating, and the Fan Fest on Munn Field is free for all ages. Wear your colors, bring something to share and ask before you pull up a chair.
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Your Spartan Stadium game-day sheet, by email
One page for the lot: where to park, when it opens, what you can bring.
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