This is your guide to the Motor City Bowl held Dec. 26 in Detroit. From directions to parking to partying, here is everything fans need to have a great time in Detroit.

How to get there

From Mount Pleasant: Take US-127 south to I-96 east. Take I-96 to I-75 north (also known as the Fisher Freeway) and exit at Grand River Avenue (exit 50). Take the I-75 service drive across Grand River and Woodward Avenue. Turn right on Brush Street and continue on for one block to Montcalm and turn left. Ford Field will be on the left.

From Grand Rapids: Take I-96 east to I-75 north and exit at Grand River Avenue and exit at Grand River Avenue (exit 50). Take the I-75 service drive across Grand River and Woodward Ave. Turn right on Brush Street and continue on for one block to Montcalm and turn left. Ford Field will be on the left.

From the southwest Metro-Detroit suburbs: Follow I-75 northbound and exit at Gratiot Ave., South. Take a right onto Gratiot Ave. Follow Gratiot Avenue, Ford Field will be on the left.

From the northern Metro-Detroit suburbs: Take M-10 (Lodge Freeway) south and exit at Grand River Avenue. Follow Grand River to the I-75 Service Drive and turn left. Continue across Woodward Avenue and turn right onto Brush Street. Go down one block and turn left onto Montcalm. Ford Field is on the left.

From northern Michigan: Take I-75 south to I-375 and get off at the exit for Madison Avenue. Turn right at the first light, Ford Field will be one block on the left.

For updates on road conditions, visit http://www.michigan.gov/mdot for updates on road conditions. Drivers can also call 1-800-381-8477.

Tickets

Students that purchase tickets at the ticket office in Rose Arena can do so at a reduced rate. Student tickets are $20 each with a valid student ID and $30 through Ticketmaster. Club seats are $45 and $60 through Ticketmaster and sideline seats are $30 and $45 through Ticketmaster. The ticket office will be holding extended hours throughout the week, open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and will have hours open during the weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the office and via phone at 1-888-FIRE-UP2.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Manager of Tickets and Promotions Kim Hudson said around 2,000 tickets had been sold since Monday. The office has between 13,000 and 14,000 tickets avaliable and is expecting to sell out, Hudson said.

“It looks like we could potentially (sell out),” she said.

Places to Stay

The Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, located on Renaissance Drive, offers rooms from $111 to $249. The Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Detroit at 333 East Jefferson Ave., offers rooms from $103 to $204. The Comfort Inn Downtown, located at 1999 East Jefferson Ave., offers rooms from $104.49 to $120.

For those that do not want to stay closer to the stadium, there are several opportunities to stay outside of the city. The Travelodge Hotel at the Downtown Casino Windsor, located at 33 Riverside Drive East is one option. Rates at the Travelodge range from $98.10 to $134 Canadian.

People can also go to motorcitybowl.com to see the preferred hotels for the bowl game.

Things to do (before and after the game)

Before the game, many people choose to patronize the downtown Detroit area, going to places such as the Hockeytown Cafe, Cheli’s Chili and Town Pump Tavern. Tailgating is prohibited at the Ford Field parking lot, so students and faculty will have to hit the downtown bar scene for their pre- and post-game partying. All three casinos – Motor City, MGM Grand and Greektown – also serve as great places to spend time before and after the game.

Items not Permitted

At Ford Field, items such as backpacks, banners, noisemakers, food, strollers fireworks, camcorders, tripods and cameras with a lense bigger than 50 mm. Go to fordfield.com for the complete list of items not permitted into the stadium.

Parking

Parking in the Ford Field lot will most likely cost between $10 and $20 for the garage. There are other places to park as well, such as the parking lot off Madison Avenue by Comerica Park. The Courtyard by Marriott in the Renaissance Center also offers parking for a maximum of $10 for a 24-hour period. The People Mover, Detroit’s lightrail system, will then take fans to the Greektown exit for a 50-cent fee.

sports@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: David Veselenak