As the first football game kicks off, many Iowa State fans are preparing for their first tailgate. During this time students hangout with friends old and new for various reasons. For those who are new to Iowa State and unfamiliar with tailgating, students have given their advice to getting started. 

“I typically tailgate with either a group of my friends or with my family and we usually play games like bags or throw a football and eat some hamburgers and hotdogs while we wait for the game to start,” said Cole Rogers, a freshman in pre-business. 

Students typically show up early to the tailgate to play games like “Cornhole,” where players take turns throwing small bean bags with the goal of getting it into a hole. 

They also show up to find a parking spot or find a group to tailgate with. 

Griffin Meyer, a sophomore in culinary food science, said he joined the Culinary Science Club to eat and play games – typically he’s not there to drink. 

“The ones I go to there’s a lot of food, there’s tents, there might be alcohol flying around that doesn’t end up in my hands – I even met President Wendy Wintersteen at the last [tailgate],” Meyer said. 

For those who are 21, bringing alcoholic drinks can factor into the fun of the event, but drinks must be “appropriate to tailgating.” Attendees should avoid bringing glass bottles, as they have a tendency to break. 

“It’s just a huge mass of people and they’re all barbecuing,” Meyer said. “Some of them spend the night there and some of them have come two days before [the football game] – I mean it’s kinda crazy people have TVs set up in their trailers.” 

For those who are planning to host a tailgate there are designated areas and fees to pay before the game starts. The parking prices for cars are $20, motorcycles $5, RVs $40 and buses are $50. There is also general parking for home football games. 

The City of Ames parking division released a notice about game day parking and the increased parking fines on illegal parking. Illegal game day parking in the neighborhoods near Jack Trice Stadium have created public safety concerns by congesting the residential streets and blocking driveways and intersections. 

Due to the safety concern, illegal parking fines have been increased from $20 to $40, 6 a.m. to midnight on home football game days. On game days, over 500 signs will be posted in the affected neighborhoods. 

The designated parking lots for the general public can be found on the Iowa State Parking Division website.