Super Bowl 2014 Stadium: How To Get To Metlife, Parking And Tailgating Info, Stadium Facts And More

With Super Bowl XLVIII just around the corner, it’s time for ticket holders to start preparing for the big game. On Sunday, Feb. 2, the Seattle Seahawks will face off with the Denver Broncos at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey -- and if you’ve paid the big bucks for a coveted game-day seat, you won’t want to be stuck in traffic somewhere listening to the game on the radio.

Making travel plans for Sunday is key, and will make for a more seamless Super Bowl experience. Like most national sporting events, getting to the stadium in a timely manner and with as few mishaps as possible is always the goal.

What’s the parking situation at MetLife? How about tailgating? What’s the best way to get to the stadium? Here’s your guide to getting to MetLife Stadium and avoiding snares along the way.

Super Bowl XLVIII: How To Get To MetLife Stadium

Tens of thousands of people will be rushing to MetLife Stadium, located in East Rutherford, N.J., this weekend, and the last thing you need is to get hung up during the commute. To make your Super Bowl arrival as painless as possible, here are some tips.

Take public transportation. Unfortunately, taxis and other car services like Uber won’t be allowed to enter the stadium, and parking passes -- at $150 a pop -- are nearly sold out. Plus, don’t you want to drink unremittingly during the game?

If you can, avoid taking a car. You’re in New York -- take advantage of the city’s excellent mass transit to get to the big game. Plus, New York and New Jersey officials are working to provide plenty of convenient and affordable opportunities for ticket holders to get to the game.

Your goal will be getting to Secaucus, between New York City and East Rutherford, where ticket holders can grab a shuttle train to the stadium. From New York, get to Penn Station and jump on the New Jersey Transit or Amtrak train to Secaucus. Select Meadowlands as your destination.

From Secaucus, you’ll pick up the Super Bowl shuttle (you must have a valid ticket to board). Shuttles begin running around 1:30 p.m. Here’s the full schedule of shuttle departures.

Additionally, you can pick up a Fan Express bus from several locations in New York City and New Jersey. Tickets are $51, and you’ll have to print them out. Check here for availability.

Here's a map of the New Jersey regional transit.

If you are driving, use this address for your GPS. 50 Route 120, East Rutherford, NJ 07073.

The official address of the stadium is One MetLife Stadium Drive, East Rutherford, NJ 07073, but stadium directors recommend using the other address for GPS purposes.

Depending on where you’re coming from, there are different ways to enter the stadium. Visit the MetLife Stadium directions website for more details.

Super Bowl XLVIII: MetLife Stadium Parking

The stadium offers 24,000 parking spaces in 14 lots surrounding MetLife, and an additional 5,000 spaces in adjacent lots. Parking tickets went on sale starting in December, and are quickly running out. No cars, limos or buses will be permitted in the stadium parking area without a parking pass.

“Parking at MetLife Stadium will be strictly limited and so the NFL is discouraging fans from driving to the game,” NYPD Counter Terrorism Bureau Inspector John O’Connell said earlier this week “Anyone who plans to drive to the game will have to purchase a parking permit in advance.”

Check the Super Bowl parking website for ticket availability. Prices range from $150 for a car to $350 for buses and shuttles. Visit the Super Bowl parking guide for more info.

Super Bowl XLVIII: MetLife Stadium Facts

MetLife stadium is home to both the New York Jets and the New York Giants. The stadium, which can change its outer colors based on which team is playing at home – green for the Jets, blue for the Giants – has over 82,000 seats and cost $1.6 billion to create.

At least with such a steep price tag, the stadium has been billed as one of the greenest stadiums in the U.S. and one of the most technologically advanced in the world. The seats are made of 80 percent recycled cast iron and 20 percent recycled plastic. There are low-flow toilets and waterless urinals. The grass is also synthetic turf.

The stadium was constructed from over 2,300 tons of material diverted from landfills, and 82 percent of its total waste is recycled. It also sports a ring of solar panels along the stadium’s outer rim which reduces the stadium’s energy footprint by 30 percent.

Super Bowl XLVIII: Tailgating At MetLife Stadium

Unfortunately, for football fans looking to host a killer tailgating party before the big game, your options are pretty limited. Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the Department of Homeland Security has stepped up regulations at sporting events nationwide.

On the list of things not to bring to the Super Bowl parking lot are open flames, charcoal grills, propane or gas tanks.

“You’re losing the smell of smoke in the air, you’re losing the visual power of seeing a big piece of meat cooking over an open flame,” Bradford Thompson, a chef whose tailgate parties prior to Giants games at MetLife Stadium have become legendary, told the New York Daily News. “I think that’s a loss because as a chef, your visual, your smell... people start showing up that you don’t know, they come over... ‘What are you guys doing?’ They see smoke, they smell something different. So there’s an anticipation, sitting in the cold parking lot drinking a beer, waiting for the pork to be done or waiting for the steak to come off. The anticipation builds.”

But just because you can’t have a grill, doesn’t mean you have to be totally left out in the cold! There are other ways to host a great parking lot get together without breaking the rules.

New York Daily News suggests bringing an electric griddle for warming food, or even a hot thermoelectric cooler. Even Crock-Pots are a great idea for getting your chow on before the big game!