Ohio Stadium sits on the Ohio State campus beside the Olentangy River, close enough that it was built on the flood plain and needs a slurry wall to keep the water out. Everyone in town calls it the Horseshoe, or just the Shoe. It opened on October 7, 1922, holds more than 102,000 people for football, and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974.
Concerts in a football house
Music comes to the Shoe in the warm months, when the field is free. The list of who has played it is long. Pink Floyd came in 1988 and again in 1994. U2 and the Rolling Stones both played in 1997, Metallica in 2003, and the Stones returned in 2015. Taylor Swift and the pairing of Beyonce and Jay-Z both played in 2018, and Billy Joel has headlined here more than once.
Stadium shows are for the artists who can fill the biggest room in the state, so watch our pop calendar and country page for the announcements.
Getting in and out
Ohio State posts a traffic and parking plan before each stadium concert, and it is worth reading the morning of the show. Campus lots handle much of the crowd, and rideshare pickup is set away from the stadium, near the Schottenstein Center on Borror Drive and in west campus lots, so expect a walk after the encore.
If you live near campus, walk or bike. COTA buses also run along High Street, a walk east of the stadium. Any of those beats sitting in a lot while the whole crowd tries to leave at once.
On the day
- Stadium bag rules are strict. Check the policy on your ticket before you pack.
- Wear shoes you can walk in. Between the lots, the gates and the ramps, a stadium concert is a lot of steps.
- Lane Avenue and High Street are full of places to eat and drink within walking distance, which makes dinner before the show easy.
- After the show, let the crowd thin out a little before you head for the car. You will sit in less traffic.
- For a smaller campus room on the same trip, see Mershon Auditorium on High Street.