The thing everyone wants at a January tailgate is the thing most lots ban: a fire. A ring of chairs around a pit, the cold on your back and the heat on your shins. Then check the rules. Buffalo is the one cold-weather lot where an open fire is legal, 6 inches off the ground; everywhere else it's the grill and nothing more. And about half these lots close at kickoff, while the other half let it run past kickoff, a few until well after the final whistle. So a playoff tailgate comes down to three things you control: what's in the pot, what's on your feet, and when you show up.
The pot is the fire
With no fire pit, the heat comes from food that's already hot when you park. Cook it at home, pack it hot, and let the grill do one quick round of something, not an all-day cook. A pot of chili, a tub of beer brats, Brunswick stew or clam chowder, and a jug of hot chocolate or cider passed around the circle: that's the fire. Where the lot bans every flame but the grill, a flameless chafer like the Revo Dubler HEAT holds two pans warm on microwave heat packs; Revo says up to 5 hours. The rest is in how to keep food hot.
Feet first
Standing on frozen asphalt for 4 hours is where people get cold, so wool socks and insulated, waterproof boots come before anything else. The rest is in cold-weather tailgating.
Twelve cold-weather stadiums at a glance
Lot hours, when the tailgate ends, tents, and fire beyond the grill, from our stadium guides. Playoff games run on the regular-season lot rules, but check your guide the week of.
| Stadium | Lots open | Tailgate ends | Tents | Fire beyond the grill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lambeau (Packers) | 4 hrs before | Kickoff | Fit in the 9 x 6 ft behind your car | No wood fires or turkey fryers |
| Highmark (Bills) | 4 hrs before | Kickoff | Yes, nothing staked | Charcoal or open fire 6 in. off the ground |
| Arrowhead (Chiefs) | 4.5 hrs before | Kickoff | One canopy, in your space | No wood fuel or wood fire pits |
| Soldier Field (Bears) | 4 hrs before | Kickoff | None, any size | No fire pits, open flames or heaters |
| Empower Field (Broncos) | Lot C, 6 hrs before | 60 min before kickoff | 8 x 8 is fine | No open-flame fires |
| Lincoln Financial (Eagles) | Varies by game | 45 min after kickoff | Not posted | Not posted |
| M&T Bank (Ravens) | 4.5 hrs before | 30 min after kickoff | None | No fire pits; cooking in hot lots only |
| Acrisure (Steelers) | Alco lots, 5 hrs before | Out 1 hr after the game | None | No flames in garages |
| Paycor (Bengals) | Surface lots, 4 hrs before | Midnight, night games | Not posted | Surface lots only, never garages |
| Ford Field (Lions) | Eastern Market, 5 hrs before | Out 60 min after the game | Up to 10 x 10 | Gas, propane or self-contained charcoal only |
| U.S. Bank (Vikings) | Season passes only | 3 hrs after or midnight | 8 x 8 max, no stakes | Stadium policy: no charcoal or wood |
| Lumen Field (Seahawks) | No tailgating on stadium property; the pregame is inside the Event Center for ticket holders | |||
Read the rows and the season picks a side. Buffalo gets the fire. Denver throws you out an hour before kickoff, so the pot has to be hot when you park. Pittsburgh, Detroit and Cincinnati are where the tailgate outlives the game. Soldier Field bans the heater along with the pit. And Seattle has no lot at all. We'll add the matchups and kickoff times when the bracket is set.
When to show up
Work backward from the hour the lots open, minus the drive. For a noon kickoff in Denver, Lot C opens at 6 and the tailgate has to wrap at 11, so the pot needs to be hot by 8. Wherever you're headed, buy playoff parking the minute it goes on sale; many of these lots go to season pass holders first. Whether you can be in the lot without a ticket is in can you tailgate without a ticket.
A January tailgate is the shortest of the year and the one people remember longest: four hours, a pot going around, everybody's breath in the air, and then the walk in. Plan it like that, and nobody misses the fire.
