onefansopinion
Member
Suggestions for EWU fans traveling to JSU
ATLANTA AIRPORT
The Atlanta Airport is about 20 minutes southwest of the city just inside I-285 which circles Atlanta.
DRIVING IN ATLANTA
Traffic is congested at best. If you can avoid driving into the city, do it.
ATLANTA SIGHTSEEING
If you have an extra day and want to sightsee in Atlanta, then I suggest you go to the Centennial Park area. CNN tours, College Football Hall of Fame, Coca-Cola Museum, Georgia Aquarium, and National Center Civil and Human Rights are ALL within walking distance. You probably can do two, and a max of three of these in one day.
If you are going to spend more than one day sightseeing, a City Pass might make financial sense.
https://www.citypass.com/atlanta
ATLANTA HOTELS
If you just insist on staying in the city of Atlanta, book a hotel in the Centennial Park area. Be prepared for traffic getting there, but you will be within walking distance of many restaurants and tourist sights once you check in.
However my recommendation would be to stay at one of the MANY hotels around the airport. If you are going to sightsee in Atlanta, you can avoid the traffic by taking the MARTA train into the city. ALL of the major airport hotels run a shuttle to and from the airport and the MARTA station is right beside the main concourse.
MARTA
https://www.itsmarta.com/
Take the FREE hotel shuttle to the airport. Get on the GOLD Line at the airport and take it to the Five Points Station. The Five Points Station is where all the lines converge. Get off at Five Points Station and take the BLUE line west one (1) stop to Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center. You are within a short walk of all the sightseeing destinations.
GETTING FROM THE AIRPORT TO JSU
This is my best piece of advice. When you leave the airport take Camp Creek Parkway. It turns into Thornton Road and that turns into Hwy 278. Hwy 278 takes you all the way to Piedmont, Alabama. Hwy 278 makes a right turn at a 4-way-stop as you approach Piedmont. Go about 2-3 more miles and turn left onto Alabama Hwy 21. Hwy 21 goes directly to JSU. Total drive time is about 2½ hours.
Yes, you have read this right. You can get from the Atlanta Airport to JSU in two turns.
LODGING AND SIGHTSEEING OUTSIDE METRO ATLANTA
I would recommend you consider Rome, Georgia. Whether you are making the trip just for the game or you are going to spend a couple of extra days in the region, it is a convenient choice. Use the same directions as “Airport to JSU” except when you reach Rockmart, GA on Hwy 278, right turn onto Hwy 101. That takes you directly to Rome. It is about a 1½ hour drive from the airport.
Consider staying at the Hawthorne Suites or the Marriott Courtyard. Both are on the river and short walking distances from a vibrant downtown area with lots of great local eating establishments. If you have an extra day visit Berry College and their Martha Berry Museum. If you are into Cherokee Indian History the Chieftains Museum Major Ridge Home is solid.
https://romegeorgia.org/
To get from Rome to JSU for the game just take Hwy 27 South to Cedartown. Turn right onto Highway 278 and then use the same directions as “Airport to JSU”. Total drive time is 1½ hours.
If you are going to spend a couple extra days in the region, these other towns/sights are a half hour drive of Rome.
1. Cave Spring. Small town, think Mayberry, it is quite the tourist destination.
2. Cartersville. Two OUTSTANDING museums. Booth Museum of Western Art is world class and includes a wonderful Hall of Presidents. The Tellus Science Museum is also really good.
VISITING JSU
You will be pleasantly surprised by the Gameday experience at JSU. Our fan base is very supportive of our team, but very welcoming of visiting fans. You will be treated well on the "Friendliest Campus in the South", so arrive early and mingle at the tailgating around campus.
Consider purchasing Club Level Seats for the game. This will need to be done by Wednesday of game week, as these seats are not available at the gate. Although a little more expensive, you get a lot of extras - buffet meal, unlimited sodas and snacks, air conditioned area with TV's, nice restrooms, and chairback home side reserved seating for the game - again our fans are friendly. It is a first class experience, especially for the FSC. Our Marching Band is also pretty impressive live, so get to your seat in time for pre-game and stick around for their post-game performance.
If you don’t want to pay the premium seat price, just purchase general admission tickets. Arrive a little early and grab “chairback” seats in the center section of the visitors side – all other general admission seats are bleacher style.
https://jsugamecocks.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx
ATLANTA AIRPORT
The Atlanta Airport is about 20 minutes southwest of the city just inside I-285 which circles Atlanta.
DRIVING IN ATLANTA
Traffic is congested at best. If you can avoid driving into the city, do it.
ATLANTA SIGHTSEEING
If you have an extra day and want to sightsee in Atlanta, then I suggest you go to the Centennial Park area. CNN tours, College Football Hall of Fame, Coca-Cola Museum, Georgia Aquarium, and National Center Civil and Human Rights are ALL within walking distance. You probably can do two, and a max of three of these in one day.
If you are going to spend more than one day sightseeing, a City Pass might make financial sense.
https://www.citypass.com/atlanta
ATLANTA HOTELS
If you just insist on staying in the city of Atlanta, book a hotel in the Centennial Park area. Be prepared for traffic getting there, but you will be within walking distance of many restaurants and tourist sights once you check in.
However my recommendation would be to stay at one of the MANY hotels around the airport. If you are going to sightsee in Atlanta, you can avoid the traffic by taking the MARTA train into the city. ALL of the major airport hotels run a shuttle to and from the airport and the MARTA station is right beside the main concourse.
MARTA
https://www.itsmarta.com/
Take the FREE hotel shuttle to the airport. Get on the GOLD Line at the airport and take it to the Five Points Station. The Five Points Station is where all the lines converge. Get off at Five Points Station and take the BLUE line west one (1) stop to Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center. You are within a short walk of all the sightseeing destinations.
GETTING FROM THE AIRPORT TO JSU
This is my best piece of advice. When you leave the airport take Camp Creek Parkway. It turns into Thornton Road and that turns into Hwy 278. Hwy 278 takes you all the way to Piedmont, Alabama. Hwy 278 makes a right turn at a 4-way-stop as you approach Piedmont. Go about 2-3 more miles and turn left onto Alabama Hwy 21. Hwy 21 goes directly to JSU. Total drive time is about 2½ hours.
Yes, you have read this right. You can get from the Atlanta Airport to JSU in two turns.
LODGING AND SIGHTSEEING OUTSIDE METRO ATLANTA
I would recommend you consider Rome, Georgia. Whether you are making the trip just for the game or you are going to spend a couple of extra days in the region, it is a convenient choice. Use the same directions as “Airport to JSU” except when you reach Rockmart, GA on Hwy 278, right turn onto Hwy 101. That takes you directly to Rome. It is about a 1½ hour drive from the airport.
Consider staying at the Hawthorne Suites or the Marriott Courtyard. Both are on the river and short walking distances from a vibrant downtown area with lots of great local eating establishments. If you have an extra day visit Berry College and their Martha Berry Museum. If you are into Cherokee Indian History the Chieftains Museum Major Ridge Home is solid.
https://romegeorgia.org/
To get from Rome to JSU for the game just take Hwy 27 South to Cedartown. Turn right onto Highway 278 and then use the same directions as “Airport to JSU”. Total drive time is 1½ hours.
If you are going to spend a couple extra days in the region, these other towns/sights are a half hour drive of Rome.
1. Cave Spring. Small town, think Mayberry, it is quite the tourist destination.
2. Cartersville. Two OUTSTANDING museums. Booth Museum of Western Art is world class and includes a wonderful Hall of Presidents. The Tellus Science Museum is also really good.
VISITING JSU
You will be pleasantly surprised by the Gameday experience at JSU. Our fan base is very supportive of our team, but very welcoming of visiting fans. You will be treated well on the "Friendliest Campus in the South", so arrive early and mingle at the tailgating around campus.
Consider purchasing Club Level Seats for the game. This will need to be done by Wednesday of game week, as these seats are not available at the gate. Although a little more expensive, you get a lot of extras - buffet meal, unlimited sodas and snacks, air conditioned area with TV's, nice restrooms, and chairback home side reserved seating for the game - again our fans are friendly. It is a first class experience, especially for the FSC. Our Marching Band is also pretty impressive live, so get to your seat in time for pre-game and stick around for their post-game performance.
If you don’t want to pay the premium seat price, just purchase general admission tickets. Arrive a little early and grab “chairback” seats in the center section of the visitors side – all other general admission seats are bleacher style.
https://jsugamecocks.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx
