Ohio State Game Day Parking in Columbus: Keep Your Car Ready

Published Tuesday, November 3, 2026 · Updated November 3, 2026, 6 AM ET · 5 min read · By Hassan, Owner of Roadmate Services

Ohio State hosts Oregon at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, November 7, with kickoff at 3:30 PM. That means a full day of traffic around campus, packed lots, and a long walk back to the car after dark.

The kickoff time comes from ABC6 (Monday, October 26, 2026), and the game is on CBS. After this one, the remaining home games are on November 14 and 28, per the Ohio State schedule. Check Ohio State’s game day page for lots and the stadium map, and OHGO for highway traffic, before you leave. Information here is as of 6 AM on Tuesday, November 3.

I am writing this one for the car, not the scoreboard. Your car does not care who wins. It only wants to start at the end of the night.

Ohio State game day at a glance

Getting to campus and where not to park

The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center game day page lists the changes that matter most for drivers:

• SR-315 ramps: the exit ramp to Lane Avenue may close for a while on game days because of congestion and safety. The ramp to Medical Center Drive stays open.
• Hospital garages are off limits: the SafeAuto Garage and the Wexner Medical Center Garage are reserved for patients and hospital visitors. No football parking.
• Free shuttle: it runs between the Carmack 1 lot and Coffey Road near Woody Hayes Drive, from six hours before kickoff until one hour after the game ends. For a 3:30 PM kickoff, that is from 9:30 AM.

If you have a hospital appointment or are visiting someone that Saturday, leave extra time and use the Medical Center Drive ramp. Everyone else, follow the stadium map, not the shortcut your GPS swears it found.

Keep your battery alive through a long game day

A car parked from morning to night is not a problem on its own. What drains a battery is everything running with the engine off. A long game day stacks them up:

1. The radio with the engine off. A few hours of pregame audio is enough to flatten an older battery.
2. Phone chargers and power inverters. Our post on whether a power inverter drains your car battery shows how fast it adds up.
3. Lights left on. Dome lights and a trunk or hatch left open can drain it while you are in the stadium.
4. An old battery. If yours is past three years old, check its date before Saturday. Here is how to read the date code on your battery.

If you need power in the lot, start the engine now and then, or bring a charged portable jump starter. Our guide on how to use a jump starter takes about two minutes to read, which is less time than the halftime line.

Keys, fobs and lockouts in a crowded lot

Long days with lots of in and out of the car are when keys end up on the seat with the doors locked. A few habits help:

• Lock the car with the fob in your hand, not with the button on the door.
• Keep a spare key with someone in your group, not inside the car.
• If the fob has been weak lately, change its battery before Saturday. See why a key fob stops working.

If it happens anyway, our post on what to do when you are locked out of your car walks through the options. If a child or a pet is locked inside, call 911 first.

The walk back after dark

With a 3:30 PM kickoff and the clocks already back an hour, most people will walk back to their cars in the dark. A big lot looks very different at night.

• Take a photo of the lot name and the nearest row sign when you park, or drop a pin on your map app.
• In a garage, note the level and the closest stairwell.
• Charge your phone before you leave home. It is your map, your ticket and your flashlight.
• Walk around the car before you drive off. A tire that went low during the day is easier to spot standing next to it than at 40 miles an hour.

Our post on driving in Columbus after the clocks go back has a quick lights and wipers check. On the highway home, if anything goes wrong: get safe, then call. Turn on your hazards, take the next exit if you can, and stay buckled in on the shoulder.

Dead battery or locked out after the game in Columbus

If your car only clicks and a friend in the lot has jumper cables, that is the quickest fix and you do not need us. If you do, in Columbus a jump start is usually $75 to $150 and a lockout is usually $75 to $175. You see the price before anyone drives to you.

We work 6 AM to 8 PM daily, Eastern Time, and arrive in about 32 minutes on average, depending on traffic, weather and location. Game day traffic counts as traffic. For an evening game, that means we may already be closed when the lots empty, so plan for the drive home before you leave the car. See our jump start service in Columbus, car lockout service in Columbus and lockouts near the Ohio State campus. The Columbus driver’s calendar lists the other big dates this season.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

Ohio State plays Oregon at home on Saturday, November 7, at 3:30 PM. Skip the hospital garages, expect the SR-315 ramp to Lane Avenue to close at times, use the free shuttle if it helps, and keep the radio and chargers off with the engine off so the car starts when you get back.

Whatever the score, the best sound of the night should be your engine turning over on the first try.

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