Yes, most stadiums let you put up a tent or canopy at a tailgate, but almost all of them limit it. The common rule is a 10 x 10 pop-up, held down with weights instead of stakes, kept inside your own parking space. A few NFL stadiums cap it at 8 x 8, and a handful don't allow tents at all. Here's what each stadium's own policy says, from our stadium guides.
Stadiums where tents aren't allowed
- Soldier Field (Bears): tents and canopies of any size are banned.
- M&T Bank Stadium (Ravens): no tents or pop-ups.
- Acrisure Stadium (Steelers and Pitt): not allowed in the lots, and Pitt's rules add no beach umbrellas.
- TCU: no tents in the garages.
- Boston College: pop-up canopies are fine; tents aren't, anywhere on campus.
Where the limit is 8 x 8 feet
A standard pop-up is 10 x 10, so measure yours before you go to these.
- Levi's Stadium (49ers): canopies up to an 8 x 8 footprint.
- MetLife Stadium (Giants and Jets): nothing bigger than 8 x 8 in a lined space.
- EverBank Stadium (Jaguars): up to 8 x 8 in a lined space.
- U.S. Bank Stadium (Vikings): 8 x 8 max in the Vikings' lots, no stakes.
- Empower Field (Broncos): the rules show an 8 x 8 canopy as fine and an oversized one as not.
- FAMU: 8 x 8 in Bragg's lined spaces, up to 20 x 20 elsewhere.
Where the limit is 10 x 10 feet
This is the most common rule. Some of the big ones:
- SEC: Arkansas, Kentucky (on green space), Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M in Aggie Park. Florida allows 12 x 10 without a permit, 10 x 10 per pass in UAA lots.
- Big Ten: Penn State, Ohio State (recommended), Michigan State, Illinois (Grove tents), Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers, UCLA (grass lots only) and USC (1 or 2 per reservation).
- Big 12: Texas Tech (inside one parking space), Iowa State, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and West Virginia.
- Others: Notre Dame, Ball State (fire-retardant, 20 lbs per leg), JMU and Navy (bigger only on the stadium perimeter or NavyFest).
- NFL: Falcons (one per space), Lions (one per double space), Cardinals and Buccaneers (no joining tents).
Where bigger tents are allowed
- Ole Miss: 10 x 20 or smaller, fully extended.
- Oklahoma State: 10 x 10 and 20 x 20 are fine.
- North Carolina: up to 400 square feet without approval.
- Auburn and Oklahoma: a permit is needed around 400 square feet.
- Southern Miss and Troy: up to 12 x 20. Charlotte: up to 10 x 20.
Can you stake a tent at a tailgate?
Usually not. Most lots are pavement, and many grass lots have irrigation, sprinkler or electrical lines underneath. LSU, Nebraska, Penn State, Boise State, the Titans, Bills and both SoFi teams are among the many that say no stakes. A few allow short ones: 12 inches at Baylor, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, 6 inches at Mississippi State, 4 inches at Kentucky without approval.
So bring weights. Sandbags, water barrels or concrete blocks are what the rules name. Ball State asks for at least 20 lbs per leg and no tying to cars, and Fresno State and Colorado State say nothing tied to trees, fences or signs.
Can you grill under a canopy?
Not at most stadiums that address it. Oregon State says grills never go under a tent, Oregon's Science Center lots allow no open flame under a canopy, and Alabama wants grills 50 feet from tents. North Carolina and Charlotte require tents near a grill to be open on all sides. Set the grill up beside the canopy, downwind.
Do you have to take the tent down for the game?
At some stadiums, yes. The Falcons, Broncos, Texans, Commanders, South Carolina and Vanderbilt all want it down before you go in. Others want someone with it at all times, like Akron and Ohio.
What about wind?
A pop-up in a gust is how people get hurt. Notre Dame wants tents down at 31 mph sustained or gusts over 45. Purdue takes down tents not rated for sustained winds of 16 mph or more. Iowa and Iowa State can restrict tents in bad weather, and Kansas State says take them down in wind.
Before you go
Rules change by season and by lot, so check your stadium's guide for the full list, including grills, alcohol and the bag rule. Every rule above comes from the stadium's or school's own posted policy; for a few stadiums, like Gillette and Lincoln Financial Field, we couldn't find a posted tent rule, so ask the parking office. For the rest of the setup, see the tailgate checklist, the wider tailgating rules by stadium and how to pack a cooler.
