Tailgating suggestions for Florida game?

[nashville73]

Hey all, first time going to a Vandy game and I have no clue where to start for tailgating. I figure no bars near the stadium will be open? Any suggestions? We are staying near Broadway and don’t have a car, so I figure we probably don’t have a ton of terrific options. TIA!

[FayetteDore]

The options are pretty slim, especially for an 11 am kickoff, although you can find dozens of restaurants near the campus that will be open for brunch. There are bars in the two hotels on West End that almost back up to the stadium.

But generally speaking, let's be honest: Vanderbilt is the worst school in the SEC for tailgating -- as evidenced by the lack of response to your inquiry. At halftime, they even shut down the vendor-owned tailgate tents along Natchez Trace that they rent out to fans -- which means that if you're actually going to the game, you have to clean up and pack up BEFORE you head into the game. (The vendor-owned tailgate tents along "Commodore Lawn" can stay open longer.) https://revelxp.com/vanderbilt?selectedEvent=1394

Some fans with parking permits set up their own canopies in the parking lots toward the southwest of the stadium.

Others may disagree but it seems to me that VU actively discourages tailgating, other than through its vendor -- almost as if they see it as an intrusion on the campus. Too bad because it really is a beautiful campus.

There should be a middle ground between the Vandy approach and the Bama approach, where they actually shut down the library on game days because of the influx of fans.

[nashville73]

Thank you for the response! That was very helpful. Do you mind giving a couple restaurants that might be open for brunch. Everywhere I check they all open at 10am at the earliest which is too late. Maybe the bars at the hotel will be serving that early? Just trying to avoid being out in the cold too early!

[FayetteDore]

Central Bar & Kitchen at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University (which is literally just beyond the north end zone of the stadium) lists on its website a pre-game brunch in partnership with Tailgate Brewery.
From the website, under Events: "We are partnering with TailGate Brewery for the best pre-game experience. $3 Tailgate drafts and $4.50 corn dips starting 3 hrs before the game until kick-off. Come join us on November 5th, 19th, and 26th to pre-game with TailGate Brewery."

The other hotel that back ups to the stadium is the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt, which has the Commodore Grille. I see that it has a breakfast menu starting at 7 am on weekends and I would imagine the bar will be open too.

The two hotels are only about a block apart so you could check out both, then head to the stadium The one at the Marriott sounds good.

[nashville73]

Awesome, thank you so much! Normally I’m pretty good at finding spots but was struggling on this one.

[Versus75]

If you don't want to go to an actual restaurant, you can go to the tents in Vandyville between the parking lots and practice fields. I have a regular group that I join. I take a six pack of beer or a bottle of spirits plus some kind of side dish or dessert and join up with them.

One time, that group wasn't set up, so I just went to another Vandyville tent with like-minded fans.

"I've got beer and snacks. May I join you?" Worked out fine. They had food and drink to share with me. Met some new folks and had a fine time.