Tips for Steelers fans going to the Super Bowl

by Gadling Staff on

Here We Go Steelers fans! It’s time to get games faces on for your 7th (SEVENTH!) Super Bowl victory! Whether you have secured tickets or you’re just planning to descend on Dallas for the party, let’s get ready for a Super Bowl like no other.

First of all, Super Bowl or not, you couldn’t be blamed for packing your towels and heading south. With temperatures in Dallas expected in the low to mid sixties next week, we all could use a good excuse to defrost our toes and boast our black and gold in a few less layers. This is no Detroit or Minneapolis Super Bowl, friends. This is TEXAS, where the February weather is balmy and the BBQs fire up year round.

Get There
Naturally, the fastest – and most expensive – route to Dallas is by air. As of today you can catch a perhaps inconvenient but definitely do-able round trip from nearby Chess Lamberton (FKL) to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) Friday to Monday for less than $800. Flights from Pittsburgh proper (PIT) are creeping closer to $900 round trip and will only climb higher the closer we get to game day.If you can afford the vacation days and take some time to see Dallas and/or recover from the victory party, flights back to Dallas on Friday and back to Pittsburgh on Monday and Tuesday are running roughly $500 and $430 respectively.

A more affordable option if you’re traveling with fellow fans is to drive. It’s a hefty 1200 mile, 20 hour drive to Dallas, which we can fairly say will be a two day trek. But for an SUV full of friends, it could be the road trip of a lifetime. And for $300-400 in gas plus the cost of a cheap hotel en route, it can be downright reasonable.

Eat There
The obvious culinary attraction of Texas has to be the BBQ, and the area around Arlington has plenty to offer.

For classic, homey fare check out the popular Bodacious Bar-B-Q, but not on game day, they’re closed on Sundays.

Bone Daddy’s House of Smoke is another local favorite, for both the delectable ribs and the “friendly” (hot) staff. With outdoor seating (in February!) and affordable dinners, you can’t go wrong.

To sample the best Mexican in town, check out one of Arlington’s – in fact Texas’ – top restaurants, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, open late on Fridays and Saturdays for that late night nacho craving.

If you have the time, take a jaunt over to Fort Worth to see how a Texan beer can stand up to Iron City Brewing. Rahr Brewery is showcasing a scotch ale this month, and offers tours every Saturday 1-3, no reservation required.

Stay There
Arlington and Dallas hotels are filling up as we speak, so best jump on accommodations as soon as you can. For budget travelers, the Quality Inn, Comfort Suites, and Best Western in Arlington all have current availability, with prices ranging from $200-300 a night, but be warned that many hotels require a four-night minimum stay during the Super Bowl.

As Cowboy Stadium is between Fort Worth and Dallas, you might also consider hotels in the Fort Worth region. The Hotel Trinity Fort Worth is 12 miles from the stadium and still has double rooms available for the weekend, running around $165/night.

If you’ve got a crew, consider renting a house or apartment in the area. With the price split between buddies and the comfort of a home to lounge in, it could be your most comfortable option.

All of these options will undoubtedly book fast, so round up your posse and start planning. Let’s go west on a wave of steel and take out those cheeseheads! Go Steelers!

[Flickr image via AndyeMcee]

Tips for Packers fans going to the Super Bowl

by Grant Martin on

It’s been a long, hard road, but the Packers have finally bested their rivals to the south and made it into the Super Bowl. Congratulations. Now it’s time to pack up the queso dip, send the kids to their grandparents and make your way down to Dallas for the showdown.

Texas! The very word brings a tidal wave of emotions. It’s a whole new ball game down there – different food, different politics and different ways of getting business done. Without the right proper guidance and a hand full of travel savvy, the gentle northerner can be eaten alive in Texas. And that’s why we’ve put together this handy guide for surviving Dallas as a Packer.

Get there
Packers fans are scattered throughout the Midwest, but chances are, a long trip south is store for most of them. The cheapest way, of course, is to drive. Provided the weather stays stable throughout the heartland, it can take between 17 and 21 hours to get from Wisconsin down to Dallas – and that’s without bathroom breaks or a stop to see the inlaws.

Public transportation is filling up fast, so if you’re even considering taking a train, bus or airplane you need to book your tickets NOW. Passage by Greyhound is possible from Green Bay or Milwaukee for a shocking $311 round trip, and as coaches fill up that price is only going to wander higher.A slightly less expensive and more comfortable passage can be made on Amtrak, where $270 can get one a round trip connecting through Chicago from Green Bay or $224 buys a ticket from Milwaukee.

The fastest and least economical way would be to fly, though prices for those tickets are already pushing past the $325 range from Green Bay. Milwaukee, on the other hand, is boasting fares in the upper $400’s. And if you want to leave on Monday, the day after the game? That’ll be over $800. Our suggestion for that route is to choose an alternative departure airport (Chicago’s O’Hare and Minneapolis are a stone’s throw away from Wisconsin) or fly on an alternate date. Through you might miss a few extra days of work by returning Wednesday morning you’ll save a ton on airfare.

Eat there
Comfort food is a prominent theme in Midwestern cooking and Texas is takes no departure. The obvious choice for sweet southern cooking lies in barbecue, and there are a host of possible around the city that nearly guarantee a delicious experience. D Magazine has a great roundup of barbecue joints in the city and in a pinch you can always check Kevin’s Barebecue Joints for an allstar list of restaurants.

Need something closer to home? Check out Scardello (3511 Oak Lawn Avenue), the top local cheese shop, where lo and behold, one of the featured cheeses this month is a Wisconsin favorite by the name of Rush Creek Reserve.

Still, no visit to Dallas would be complete without a trip to one of the most popular restaurants in the city, and that means tex-mex. Two of our favorite twitteratti, @flyingphotog and @meridethlmckee, suggest Chuy‘s (4544 McKinney Avenue) and Uncle Julio’s (multiple locations) for local favorites.

Alternatively, Victor Tango’s (3001 N. Henderson) serves up a fine dish of urban bar fare, and their kitchen even stays open late for the partiers.

Stay there
At this point in the game there aren’t a ton of free rooms to spare in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and whatever’s remaining is starting to skyrocket in price. Our favorite hotels in the city, The Joule and the Ritz-Carlton are booked solid, though sister properties, (Marriott, 3300 Championship Parkway and Aloft, 122 E. John Carpenter Freeway) still have some availability.

Frugal travelers will probably have the best luck in finding workable accommodations. There are a half-dozen Motel 6‘s in the DFW area, each available for less then seventy bucks a night, and above that, a full range of Econo-Lodges with some moderate ability.

The NYLO Dallas (1001 West Royal Lane) also still has some rooms remaining.

Weather highs have been ranging from the 50’s to the 60’s so if you’ve got an adventurous streak about you there are a startling number of campgrounds and RV parks circling the city. Texasoutside has a great database of parks.

[Flickr image via Phil Roeder]

HotelPlanner.com gives away free hotel rooms for each day The Jets are in the NFL playoffs

by Melanie Nayer on

Everyone gets a little excited around playoff time, and why shouldn’t travelers who happen to be football fans capitalize on the fun? Clearly claiming their preferred team, HotelPlanner is giving away $500 in free hotel rooms every day at 2pm EST this week to its Facebook fans while their team travel partner, The New York Jets, are still in the NFL playoffs.

The secret to free hotel rooms can be found at HotelPlanner’s Facebook page. Anybody can win, even if you’re a not a Jets fan. If the Jets continue to win, HotelPlanner will continue to give away $500 in free hotel rooms every day until The Superbowl.

Yesterday’s lucky clue from their fan page: “Today’s random number is 50! If your billing zip code ends in 50 then be the first to book $500 worth of free hotel rooms online at HotelPlanner.com!”

Seems easy enough… even if you’re a Ravens fan.

The rooms can be booked at any hotel, for any time, length of stay, star rating or number of rooms, as long as the total reservation cost adds up to $500 or less and the rooms can be booked on HotelPlanner.com.

Qatar’s 2022 World Cup stadium concepts

by Stephen Greenwood on

On Thursday, FIFA announced that Qatar defeated South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States in the race to host the 2022 World Cup. This historic decision marks the first time a Middle Eastern country will welcome a major sporting event.

FIFA’s choice has brought a significant backlash in the American media, with critics claiming that the summer heat (as high as 120 degrees Farenheit) will be unbearable and that a country the size of Delaware (with 1.6 million residents) will not be able to handle an estimated influx of 400,000 spectators.

Nonetheless, Qatar has outlined a complex plan to renovate three stadiums and build nine brand new complexes across seven host cities. Bid organizers claim that they are developing revolutionary methods to keep each of the stadiums climate-controlled and carbon neutral, at an estimated construction cost of about $6.2 billion.

Check out the designs in the gallery below:

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German architects AS&P have produced 12 conceptual designs that incorporate retractable roofs and solar power for cooling systems as well as modular designs that allow some of the stadiums to be dismantled at the end of the tournament and rebuilt in other countries.

Whether or not you agree with FIFA’s decision, it’s hard to deny that Qatar made an impressive pitch. Watch the video below to see the entire presentation, or just skip to 3:18 to see a live action rendering of Qatar’s vision for the 2022 World Cup.

JetBlue’s New York jet celebrates the New York Jets

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Okay, there is no shortage of colors and plays on words in this new partnership deal. The New York Jets will actually have a New York jet flying in and out of the city soon. The team, which sports green in its logo and on its uniforms, is even overtaking the color of its partner, JetBlue. One of the carrier’s jets will be painted in the football team’s colors.

JetBlue is also offering DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” football package to its passengers, showing a keen eye for the value of gridiron connections in filling seats.

According to Business Insider:

It is unclear if this new green and white jet will be used for flights to Jets away games. As part of the partnership between the airline and the football team, JetBlue offers discounted fares to Jets away games. It seems fitting if the new jet would be used for these flights.

[photo by NYCMarines via Flickr]