How to Go to a Game as a Group: Tickets, Tailgating and Game Day

To go to a game as a group, pick the game early, have one person buy the tickets together (most teams offer group rates for about 10 or more), collect money before you buy, and agree on a meeting spot, a tailgate plan and a ride home. Seats together, a tailgate beforehand and a plan for leaving are what make a group game day work.

Group tickets: how they work

• Minimums are usually 10 to 20 tickets. Many NBA teams, including the Wizards, 76ers and Rockets, start group pricing at 10. College football programs often start at 15 or 20.
• Bigger groups get bigger discounts. One MLB team's group page, for example, offers 15% off for 15 to 299 tickets and 25% off for 300 or more.
• Seats are together. That's the real advantage over everyone buying separately.
• Group orders are often final sale. Collect money first and confirm headcount before you buy.
• Ask about extras. Group packages sometimes include a scoreboard message, a pregame on-field experience or food vouchers.

Not quite 10 people? Buy a block of seats together in one order on the team's site the day sales open, before the good pairs get split up.

What is tailgating?

Tailgating is a pregame party in the stadium parking lot, named for the fold-down tailgate of a pickup truck. Fans arrive hours early, set up tents, grills and chairs, eat, play games like cornhole and meet the people parked next to them. In college towns it's often as big a tradition as the game itself.

Tailgating checklist

• A tent or canopy, folding chairs and a table
• A grill or pre-made food, plus a cooler with ice and water
• Trash bags (leave the lot cleaner than you found it)
• Cornhole, a football, a speaker
• Phone chargers, sunscreen or rain gear, layers for night games
• Your tickets and a clear bag for inside the stadium

Check the rules first

Every stadium sets its own. Check before you go: which lots allow tailgating, what time they open, whether alcohol, grills or open flames are allowed, and the bag policy for getting in. For example, ETSU's guidelines for Bucs football in Johnson City limit tailgating to designated areas on game days and don't allow alcohol, and William B. Greene Jr. Stadium has a clear bag policy. Rules change from season to season, so check the team's game-day page for that week.

The game-day plan

1. One organizer. One person buys tickets, books parking and runs the group chat.
2. Pay up front. Use an app to collect everyone's share before buying anything.
3. Rides home. Carpool, pick a designated driver, or book a rideshare pickup point away from the main gate.
4. A meeting spot. Pick a landmark outside the gate in case phones die or the network jams.
5. A leave plan. Decide before kickoff whether you're staying to the end or beating the traffic.

Why it's better with a crew

Going to a game is one of the oldest ways to build a friend group: a shared team, a shared day and something to talk about for weeks. Make it a regular thing, the same tailgate spot each home game or the same section each season, and the people around you become your people. Can't make it in person? Here's how to find a watch party.