Upcoming events at Ohio Stadium
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Deck first, then stand
For a Buckeyes game at Ohio Stadium, buy a sideline seat in the East or West stand between the 30-yard lines, and choose the deck to match what you want. The B deck gives the best combination of height and closeness for following plays. The A deck, from the middle rows up, puts you nearer the field and the noise. The C deck is the budget sideline seat, high but with the whole field in view.
Ohio Stadium, known as the Horseshoe or the Shoe, is the open-air home of Ohio State Buckeyes football on the university's Columbus campus. It holds 102,780, the most of any stadium in Ohio, and has hosted the Buckeyes since October 1922. Home games run on fall Saturdays from early September into late November, with kickoffs anywhere from noon to night. Late spring and summer bring stadium concerts and country festivals, and the university holds its spring commencement here.
How the Shoe is built: decks and stands
Two labels on every ticket tell you where you are: the deck (how high) and the stand (which side).
The three decks
Architect Howard Dwight Smith hung an upper deck over part of the lower one rather than building a single bowl. The result is three levels:
- A deck: the lowest, nearest the field. New front rows appeared when the playing surface was lowered at the turn of the century.
- B deck: the middle level.
- C deck: the top level, extending out over the seats below.
The four stands
- East and West: the sidelines, and the first choice for football.
- North: the closed, curved end, fronted by the Rotunda, a domed entrance modeled on Rome's Pantheon.
- South Stands: the open end, where 2,500 seats went in above the entrance tunnels in 2014. This is the student section.
The main HD screen, 124 feet wide and 42 feet tall, rises over the south end; the north end has a smaller board. Premium seating arrived with the 1998–2001 rebuild: 81 suites and roughly 2,500 club seats. Before you pay, confirm the deck on the listing: the same stand covers very different heights.
Picking a seat for a Buckeyes Saturday
- Best view of the game: B deck on a sideline. You read formations and coverage without the players shrinking.
- Close to the field: A deck sideline, middle rows and higher. Since the surface was lowered, the bottom rows are nearly even with the grass, so the benches and sideline crowd flatten and block the near side.
- Budget sideline: C deck, where the height costs detail but not the full-field picture.
- Maximum noise: the South Stands, packed with students who start the O-H-I-O chant. Great for atmosphere, less so for a quiet look at the game.
Sun, rain and the overhang
There is no roof. Early-season noon games bake, and November can turn cold and wet. Because the horseshoe opens to the south, the sidelines face east and west; for an afternoon kickoff, the West stand, facing east, keeps the sun behind you. The back rows of the A and B decks are tucked beneath the overhang, which brings late-day shade and partial shelter from rain, but that overhang also clips high punts and the upper part of the video board.
Concert seats and ones to pass on
Stadium shows almost always build the stage across one end. From a lower-deck sideline seat turned toward it, you beat anyone in the opposite end zone, who faces both a long distance and a sea of standing fans on the floor. Huge shows have played here, and a Luke Combs concert on April 25, 2026, drew 97,367.
- Low A-deck rows in the end zones: little sense of what happens at the opposite end of the field.
- Deep overhang rows: poor if you like following the ball in the air.
- Behind-the-stage concert seats: the limited-view label is accurate.
Rivalry dates, night games and traditions
Big Ten opponents lift demand, and Michigan, which comes to Columbus every other year, lifts it most. Attendance topped out at 110,045 when the Wolverines visited on November 26, 2016, a game settled in two overtimes. For the other side of that rivalry, see the Michigan Stadium guide.
Get to your seat early. The marching band's Script Ohio, finished when a sousaphone player "dots the i," is one of college football's best-known pregame rituals, and the O-H-I-O chant travels from the South Stands around the bowl. Night games, uncommon until permanent lights arrived in 2014, run louder and finish late, so allow extra time for the walk back and the shuttle line.
Parking, the free shuttle and tailgate rules
CampusParc, the university's parking operator, posts a new football parking map every season. In 2026 the day-of lots come in three bands (Premiere closest, then Proximity, then Non-proximity), and cost falls as distance grows. Gates to the lots swing open at 5 a.m.; there are no reservations, no cash and no coming back once you drive out. Fans who want a pass for the full season buy it from the athletics ticket office. See the CampusParc football page for current lots and rates.
Plenty of out-of-town fans leave the car on West Campus and take the no-charge shuttle. Board at the Mount Hall loop (by Lane Avenue and Carmack Road); you are dropped at Herrick Drive Transit Hub, a short walk south of the Shoe. Buses start rolling six hours ahead of kickoff and keep going for an hour and a half after the final play. Normal campus routes pause in that window and resume two hours after the game.
- Space: your setup has to stay within your own parking spot, 8.5 by 15 feet, and saving neighbors' spots is not allowed.
- Fire: propane is permitted under campus safety rules; no charcoal, no wood and no fire pits.
- Garages: grilling and generators are off-limits, and outlets cannot be used.
- Accessible parking: the lots just north of St. John Arena plus the Lane Avenue Garage. A dedicated shuttle runs to Gate 22 on the stadium's east side, starting six hours pregame and ending an hour after the final whistle.
Bags and gates: what to confirm
Ohio State posts its bag rules, gate times and digital ticket instructions on its football gameday page, and those rules can change from year to year. As of fall 2026, read that page before each game instead of relying on last season's rules.
- Pack light: many college stadiums limit fans to a small clear bag or a tiny clutch, so arriving with no bag, or a small clear one, is the low-risk choice.
- Arrive early: more than 100,000 people pass through the gates, and the last hour before kickoff has the longest lines.
- Load your ticket in advance: mobile service slows once the stadium fills.
Every Reserved Seat order includes guaranteed entry.
From Ohio Field to 102,780
Ohio Field gave way to the new stadium on October 7, 1922, when 66,210 seats opened under stacked, overhanging decks supported by paired columns, an engineering leap for its day. A slurry wall protects it from the Olentangy River, whose flood plain it occupies, and the National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1974.
Between 1998 and 2001, crews removed the old track, dug the field down by 14.5 feet and pushed seating beyond 101,000. In 2014 came the extra south-end rows and permanent lighting; suite upgrades afterward left the count at 102,780. Since 2022 the field has carried the Safelite Field name under a naming deal, while the stadium kept its own. The Columbus Crew played here from 1996 to 1998. For the city's other teams, see the Columbus Blue Jackets page.
Frequently asked questions
Which deck is best at Ohio Stadium?
For most fans, the B deck on the East or West sideline. It balances height for reading plays with enough closeness that players stay easy to follow.
How many fans does Ohio Stadium hold?
Capacity is 102,780, and the attendance record of 110,045 was set against Michigan in 2016.
Is there a free shuttle to Ohio State games?
Yes. Free buses link West Campus (Mount Hall loop) with Herrick Drive Transit Hub near the stadium, starting six hours before kickoff and running 90 minutes past the end.
Where do Ohio State students sit?
Students fill the South Stands at the open end, and they start the O-H-I-O chant.
What size bag can I bring to Ohio Stadium?
The university updates its bag rules on the gameday page, sometimes from one season to the next. As of fall 2026, read the current version before kickoff; traveling bag-free is the safest bet.
Which seats get shade at Ohio Stadium?
Rows deep in the A and B decks sit under the overhang and get shade later in the day. For afternoon games, West stand seats keep the sun behind you.