Your 2024 Virginia Tech Football Game Day Guide

Written By Hill Kerby on August 21, 2023 - Last Updated on August 27, 2024
Your 2024 game day guide to Virginia Tech games at Lane Stadium

The Virginia Tech Hokies’ 2024 football season is right around the corner. Last year (7-6) marked a bounce back from 2022’s 3-8 outing and an end to the team’s four-year streak of losing seasons. Virginia Tech beat Tulane 41-20 in the Military Bowl.

The Hokies now look to 2024 with hopes for another winning season. Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium is among the loudest in college football, accompanied by rich traditions that make for an unmatchable game day experience.

If you’re planning a trip to Blacksburg this year, our guide will help you have the best time possible. We’ll cover all the details, including stadium information, purchasing tickets, parking, tailgating, and everything else to expect on Virginia Tech game day.

Step 1: Choose your game(s) and buy tickets

VT fans have several options for purchasing tickets to home games, from individual games to season tickets and everything in between. Lane Stadium seats over 66,000 fans on game day and features suites, club seats and a handful of price tiers from the upper deck to the field level.

The 2024 schedule features six home games. You can buy tickets at hokiesports.com

  • Saturday, Aug. 31 at Vanderbilt 
  • Saturday, Sept. 7 vs. Marshall
  • Saturday, Sept. 14 at Old Dominion
  • Saturday, Sept. 21 vs. Rutgers
  • Friday, Sept 27 at Miami 
  • Saturday, Oct. 5 at Stanford
  • Thursday, Oct. 17 vs. Boston College
  • Saturday, Oct. 26 vs. Georgia Tech (Homecoming)
  • Saturday, Nov. 2 at Syracuse
  • Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. Clemson
  • Saturday, Nov. 23 at Duke
  • Saturday, Nov. 30 vs. Virginia (Smithfield Commonwealth Clash)

Single-game tickets vary in price, depending on the game and seat, ranging from $50 to $150. Some games also offer fan four packs for $15 to $60 per ticket for seats in the upper south endzone and upper east stands.

Season tickets

All season ticket-holders must donate to the Hokie Scholarship Fund (HSF) before March 1, starting at $25 per seat. Donations come at seven tiers, up to $800 per seat as a minimum gift, with tickets awarded according to donation. The higher-ticket donators receive the best seats in the stadium.

Season ticket plans are still available for those who have made eligible donations. If you haven’t, the school is selling 2024 season tickets already, too. Per-seat donation requirements are as follows:

  • Green zone: $600 per seat minimum gift; $540 season ticket
  • Purple zone: $350 per seat minimum gift; $465 season ticket
  • Orange zone: $200 per seat minimum gift; $465 season ticket
  • Red zone: $100 per seat minimum gift; $425 season ticket
  • Blue zone: $50 per seat minimum gift; $400 season ticket
  • Yellow zone: $25 per seat minimum gift; $325 season ticket

If those are out of your budget, the most affordable plan is the 540 Zone package. This includes two season tickets in the upper south endzone and a $25 HSF contribution for just $540.

Premium seats

Lane Stadium’s 43 suites sit on the west side and south endzone, featuring a climate-controlled space with an open floor plan, wet bar and refrigerator, a furnished hospitality area and private restrooms. However, you’ll need to join the waiting list or know a VIP, as these suites are sold out for the foreseeable future.

The stadium’s west side has indoor and outdoor clubs with chair-back seats, private restrooms, and upgraded food and beverage options. The indoor club is climate-controlled. Fans can gain club access for $2,450 – a $2,000 annual HSF donation plus the $450 cost of a season ticket.

The south endzone also features two club areas. The primary south end zone club features similar amenities to the west side and costs $1,200 for access ($750 annual HSF donation plus $450 season ticket). The terrace above it costs $950 for the season ($500 donation and $450 season ticket).

Group seats

Virginia Tech offers group tickets for parties of 10 or more. Group prices range from $15 to $50 per ticket, depending on location and opponent.

For more information, email [email protected] or call 1-800-VATECH4 and ask for a group sales representative.

Step 2: Traveling to Lane Stadium

Lane Stadium is on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. Out-of-town visitors can fly into the Roanoake-Blacksburg Regional Airport, about 45 minutes northeast of town.

Blacksburg sits in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, and you’ll surely cherish the drive into town regardless of how far you’re coming from. US-460 runs north-south through Blacksburg, nine miles north of I-81, providing direct access to the school and stadium from Exit 6.

The area features ample hotels and private stay options. You can even stay on campus if you’d like, as The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center is an excellent option.

If you are driving, plan for traffic before and after the game. Give yourself at least 15 to 30 minutes more than you think you need.

Parking

Most parking lots are within walking distance of Lane Stadium and feature reasonable prices. Parking fees at elementary and middle school lots go toward local school programs.

  • Airport-West Runway Lot ($20): 10-minute walk to the stadium
  • Upper and Lower Municipal Lots ($160 season pass): 15-minute walk
  • Kent Square Parking Garage ($25 or $130 season pass): 15-minute walk
  • Margaret Beeks Elementary School ($8): 17-minute walk
  • Harding Avenue Elementary ($8): 22-minute walk
  • Gilbert Linkous Elementary ($8): served by Blacksburg Travel (BT) route buses
  • P2/Blacksburg Middle School ($12): shuttle service begins three hours before kickoff

On-campus parking may be available for $25 at three sites using the ParkMobile app, but spaces sell out quickly.

  • Perry Street Parking Garage
  • Ag Quad Lot
  • Squires Lot

Restricted items

Before you arrive, know what you can and can’t bring inside Lane Stadium. Some prohibited items are listed below.

  • Banners, signs and flags
  • Bags not in accordance with the school’s clear bag policy
  • Coolers
  • Noisemakers
  • Umbrellas

Additionally, Lane Stadium is 100% smoke-free. No smoking or vaping of any kind is allowed.

Step 3: Prepare for fun

Virginia sports betting does not allow for betting on in-state college games or players. It’s especially hard on bettors in Virginia, as the state lacks a professional team in the four major sports. Fans are forced to visit a neighboring state to place bets on Hokies games. On the plus side, the Virginia/West Virginia border is just a short, 20-mile drive away from Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech football’s traditions are a major part of the game day experience, and it makes for an unforgettable time at Lane Stadium. You’ll want to enter the stadium early, though, unless you want to double down on the gate lines after waiting in traffic. Gates open two hours before kickoff.

Half of the home games are dubbed effect games, with fans encouraged to show up in the corresponding color (orange, white or maroon). Make sure to dress accordingly if you attend one of these games.

Pregame traditions

Tech’s most well-known traditions come when the team is introduced. As the team makes its way to the field, the crowd chants, “Let’s Go/Hokies!” Half the stadium takes the first two words, alternating in silence as the other half finishes the cheer.

The energy continues to build as the team reaches the end of the tunnel, touching the Hokie Stone and finally emerging to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” The crowd jumps up and down, adding to the excitement as the team storms the field.

The Hokies have taken the field to this song every home game since 2000. Fans jumping came as an accidental add-on to the tradition, starting one day when a few band members were cold and began jumping up and down. More people joined in, and the rest became history.

Hokie Stone

The Hokie Stone that players touch before entering the field has been a part of the players’ game day tradition since 1965. Next to it reads the words: “For those who have passed. For those who have come. Reach for excellence.”

Hokie Stone is a type of limestone native to the area, representing a solid and reliable building block to a greater outcome. The university has embraced the stone, constructing all on-campus buildings with it instead of brick or concrete.

Hokey Pokey, the Skipper and other in-game traditions

Once the game is underway, fans stay engaged through several other customs. On defense, third-downs are known as “key plays,” and fans take out keys and jingle them around in the air. 

When the team converts a first down on offense, the fans cheer, “H-O-K-I-E-S! Hokies!” In the red zone, fans yell, “Stick it in!” And when the Hokies score, a cannon known as the Skipper gets fired.

Lastly, make sure to be in your seat at the end of the third quarter when “Hokey Pokey” comes on the loudspeaker. Fans get up to sing and dance together before, hopefully, cheering the Hokies on to a W.

HokieBird

One of the oldest traditions deals with the team’s mascot, the HokieBird. While it wasn’t officially created until 1981, its roots date back to Tech’s original nickname, the Fighting Gobblers

The first unofficial mascot was a turkey that local resident Floyd Meade trained to pull a cart at a game in 1913. The first official mascot came in 1962 when a student wore a costume that set the basis for today’s anthropomorphic bird. 

The Gobblers nickname has also played a role in turkey legs becoming a popular game day food item in Blacksburg.

Step 4: Turkey legs, tailgates and tonics

Unless you’re vegan, no trip to Blacksburg is complete without a turkey leg. You’ll smell them cooking throughout the area, whether inside the stadium or outside.

Besides turkey legs, in-stadium concessions include the standard fare, like hot dogs and nachos. Lane Stadium also sells alcohol to guests aged 21 and older at its concession stands. All concession stands are cashless.

If the stadium’s basic concessions are not appealing, you can always take part in tailgating before the game.

The Squires and Ag Quad lots allow for tailgating, but the Perry Street and North End Center parking garages do not for obvious reasons. Other lots around town have varying rules on tailgating.

For larger gatherings, check out either Center Street or the Lane Stadium parking lot. The former is infamous for rowdy parties, and the latter is better for cookouts and family gatherings.

Photo by Steve Helber/AP Photo
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Hill Kerby

Hill Kerby is a proponent of safe, legal betting, and is grateful to be able to contribute to growing the industry. He has a background in poker, sports, and psychology, all of which he incorporates into his writing.

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