Hints for attending this weekend’s BB doubleheader

Sunday’s Badger basketball doubleheader will bring a larger than usual influx of basketball fans and their vehicles in and around the university.

There will be a full house for the Badger men’s game against Northwestern at noon, and up to 10,000 fans are anticipated for the women’s game against Penn State at 4 p.m.

Kohl Center building manager Rex Owens says parking will be a major challenge, along with moving people in an out of the arena, so he is asking fans for their help.

“We strongly encourage fans to park for free in Lots 17, 18 and 19 at Camp Randall and take the convenient Madison Metro shuttle to the Kohl Center for $1 round-trip,” says Owens.

“The buses will pick up passengers on Monroe Street near the Shell and drop them off right in front of the Kohl Center.” The shuttles run 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m.

Men’s basketball fans who have parking permits for lot 88 at the Kohl Center and lot 91 at the Madison School District administration Building will have to remove their vehicles from those lots by 2:30 p.m. to make room for women’s basketball permit holders who also use those lots.

Officials ask those attending the men’s game to leave the Kohl Center as quickly as possible when the game is over, because the building has to be cleared between games. Those attending the booster event following the game should proceed to the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion.

“We’ve got a real tight turnaround time, and we need everyone’s cooperation in order to make it all go smoothly,” says Owens.

He says fans heading to the women’s game would be well-advised to arrive a little later than they might on a normal game day.

“Since they won’t be able to get into the building until 3 p.m. anyway, leaving home 15 minutes later could make getting to the game a lot easier.”

The Kohl Center gates open at 11 a.m. for the men’s game, and at 3 p.m. for the women’s game.

After the men’s game, fans can go to the Kohl Center ticket office and exchange their ticket stubs from the men’s game for a ticket to the women’s game at a discounted price of $5.