Ohio State opens its season against Ball State on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., and anyone walking into Ohio Stadium this fall needs to be know that several rules have changed over the offseason. Ticket barcodes now appear on a delay. Parking lots are cashless. The bag policy is stricter, and the entrance for medical bags has a different name than it used to.
What you need to know
The ticket’s barcode will not appear until 48 hours out
Ohio State Athletics switched to dynamic barcodes, which show up in ticket accounts only within 48 hours of an event through Ticketmaster’s in-app technology. Opening an account on a Tuesday and finding nothing scannable is normal.
Tickets can still be added to a phone wallet before that 48-hour window, which is the easier path for anyone who does not want to be troubleshooting an app in a parking lot. Mobile parking passes are moving the same direction, from static QR codes to the in-app system with dynamic barcodes and Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
For resale, Ohio State points fans to Ticketmaster.com, OhioStateBuckeyes.com and the Ohio State Buckeyes app. The athletics department says using those channels is what protects buyers against ticket fraud.
Parking runs $30 to $60, and lots are cashless
| Day-of-game lot | Price per vehicle |
| Premiere | $60 |
| Proximity | $40 |
| Non-proximity | $30 |
Payment at every day-of-game location is credit card or smartphone only, and no cash is accepted at the entrance to any official parking area. That holds inside the stadium too, at concessions, merchandise stands and the ticket office, and there is nowhere in Ohio Stadium to turn cash into a card.
Lots and garages open at 5 a.m., and spots go to whoever gets there first. No tailgating equipment can go down before then. Once a fan leaves the stadium, re-entry is not permitted.
Anyone parking on West Campus, including the lots west of State Route 315, can ride a free shuttle that picks up at the Mount Hall Loop and drops off at the Neil Avenue Transit Hub, a short walk from the stadium.
College Road is closed, and Woody Hayes Drive shuts before kickoff
College Road is closed in both directions between 12th Avenue and Hagerty Drive through late October, part of a rebuild that runs into spring 2027. Sidewalks in that stretch are affected and Campus Area Bus Service routes have been pushed toward High Street.
Woody Hayes Drive closes about four hours before kickoff, which for a 12:30 p.m. start puts it in the middle of the morning. Ohio State police are also using mobile barriers at checkpoints near the stadium, meant to keep unauthorized vehicles out of areas where people are walking.
“We’re all working together for one goal, and that is a safe season,” Ohio State Police Deputy Chief Alan Horujko told The Lantern.
For anyone skipping the drive, game-day rideshare pickup runs along Borror Drive near the Schottenstein Center and at 17th Avenue and Neil Avenue. Drivers can’t pick up at the stadium itself. COTA lines 1, 2, 8, 22, 31 and 102 all serve campus.
Bags aren’t permitted, and the wallet limit is small
Bags and purses of any size are barred from Ohio Stadium. What is allowed is a wallet or wristlet no larger than 5 by 8 by 1 inches, which is smaller than most clutches, so a bag that passes at another stadium isn’t a safe bet here.
There are exceptions covering medical, dietary and childcare needs. A guest carrying one bag for medications, medical equipment, single-serving dietary food, diapers, formula, breast milk or breast pump supplies enters through the Band Center doors between Gates 10 and 12, or the Security Entrance between the Huntington Club and Gate 23. Ohio State sets no size limit on that bag and asks for no written proof of need. Declaring it at one of those two gates is enough, though the bag will be searched thoroughly.
Every guest passes through a metal detector on the way in.
Faster Wi-Fi, and face scanning at some gates
Ohio Stadium has been upgraded to Juniper Mist Wi-Fi 7, taking the network from roughly 1,800 access points to more than 2,000. Ohio State says it’s the largest deployment of its kind in a U.S. stadium, and that the difference should show up most at the entry gates and in the concourses.
Express Entry, the facial authentication program Ohio State runs with Wicket, expands to certain public gates this season after launching in premium areas and for students last year. Ohio State says fans choose whether to use it.
Padded seatbacks can now be rented for a single game once inside, from carts on A Deck and C Deck. Fans leave them at their seats at the end of the game.
The game-day timeline
Gates open two hours before kickoff. For a 12:30 p.m. start, Ohio State’s published schedule runs:
- 5 a.m., parking lots open
- 9:30 a.m., Skull Session and Fan Fest doors open, and the ticket office opens near Gate 5
- 10:10 a.m., Skull Session begins at St. John Arena
- 10:15 a.m., the Buckeye Walk leaves St. John Arena for Ohio Stadium
- 10:30 a.m., stadium gates open
- 12:20 p.m., Victory Bell and team entrance
- 12:30 p.m., kickoff
For the opener, Jim Tressel will be enshrined in the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor, the third coach in program history to get the honor after Paul Brown and Woody Hayes. The game doubles as Alumni Band and Spirit Day and as football Senior Day.
Ohio State runs a text alert service for traffic, parking, weather and emergency updates on game days. Texting OSUFB to 67283 will sign you up.
If the plan for the day extends past the stadium, Columbus Navigator has a rundown of things to do around campus on game day. Fans flying in for a game can also check which airlines are adding special flights from Columbus this season.
