Greetings from San Antonio !
I've been waiting for the Buckeyes to make an appearance in the Alamo Bowl for a bazillion years! Too bad it took a less-than-glamorous season for my wish to come true :(
I live In San Antonio, have been since 1992, and work about 15 minutes from the AlamoDome. For those of you who are considereing traveling here to take in the game ... check it out:
1) As of 30 November 2004, the only seats available via Ticketmaster are in either end zone, or the upper deck (oxygen mask required). The kind young lady at the Alamodome box office told me that most of the lower level seats went "to the schools."
2) The legal ticket brokers in Texas have lower level seats on the OSU side of the Dome from $195 - $300. The brokers told be that the OSU tickets are selling *fast*. These might be seats that the brokers purchased from either "season ticket holders" (meaning someone who bought AlamoBowl tickets in years past ... they get the first shot) or from when they first went on sale - in AUGUST!
3) There are a gazillion hotels on The Riverwalk here in San Antonio. They can be expensive, but very convenient. We've had two NCAA Final Four tornaments here, and all the fans who stayed on The Riverwalk had an absolute blast (its why the NCAA came back a second time). If you do decide to stay on The Riverwalk, you are in walking distance from the game, restaraunts, pubs, and all of downtown. Its kind of an upscale version of High Street ... with Margaritas!
4) I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the City of San Antonio and the AlamoDome DO NOT ALLOW ANY TAILGATE PARTIES, AND NO OVERNIGHT PARKING AT THE DOME. Believe me, all of us down here know that sucks, but its just the way it is. Rumor has it that the Alamo Bowl will be sponsoring an "official tailgate party" at the Sunset Station complex, just outside the AlamoDome.
Here are a few links to get y'all started:
http://www.alamobowl.com/
http://www.sanantonio.gov/dome/
http://server2000.toolbox.net/abowl03/pdf/DomeMap11-2004BigTen-12.pdf
http://thesanantonioriverwalk.com/index.asp
http://www.sanantoniocvb.com/
http://www.sunset-station.com/index.php
More to follow ... :osu: