I was thinking about going to the Dairy Queen Classic at the Metrodome in early March and would like some recommendations on travel, where to stay, etc...
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Dale,

Sorry to see that you haven't gotten any answers yet - but Welcome to the HS Baseball Web!

I live in a suburb of Minneapolis but I really can't tell you much about the hotels, since I don't stay in them here, if that makes any sense! Traffic in downtown Minneapolis can be a little bothersome at busy times of the day, so you might want to consider staying in a hotel close to the Metrodome - you can find links from this page:
http://www.msfc.com/links.cfm

If you're not renting a car, you might consider taking the Light Rail from the airport to downtown - it's fairly new and I haven't used it yet, but I've heard it's pretty convenient.

When we go to Twins games in the Metrodome, we often park in the lot of Hubert's bar right across the street, and stop in Hubert's for a drink and appetizers afterwards. I don't know if visitors from out of town would consider Hubert's anything special, it's a pretty basic bar, but there is a lot of neat sports memorabilia on the walls (magazine covers, newspapers, etc.).

My son's D3 team will kick off their season with a doubleheader in the Dome on March 1st. What teams are you planning to watch?

Julie

Thanks for the help. I was thinking about going to see Arkansas play.

Traveling to Metrodome in a few weeks for the National Showcase. Just wanted some tips on getting around downtown, places to eat etc. Thanks.

chipper,

What hotel are you staying at, and will you be renting a car?

Driving around downtown Minneapolis near the Metrodome is pretty much the same as most medium-large cities. Rush hour at the start and end of the workday is pretty busy, sometimes a bit backed up at the intersections, but not nearly as bad as a large city like Boston, for example.

My family lives in a suburb about a half hour west of the Metrodome. When we go downtown for Twins games, our favorite restaurant/bar is Hubert's, which is a sports bar directly across the street from the Dome. (We went there for a casual bite to eat and a beer after stopping by last year's National Showcase.) For Twins games we arrive early enough to get a parking spot in the paid lot right next to Hubert's, but for the National last year we had no trouble finding parking near the Dome. There aren't a lot of other restaurants right near the Metrodome, but LOTS of good places to eat if you walk 4 or 5 blocks or hop on a metro bus.

If you let me know where you are staying and what type of places to eat you are looking for, I can provide a few more tips - though I'm not an expert as I don't spend a lot of time in downtown Minneapolis. My husband and I will be at the National again for at least a half day or so, though we don't know yet which day that will be. It was a great event last year with TONS of talent! You'll have to let me know who your son is.

Julie

We are staying at the Town Place Suites downtown which said is in the warehouse district. We are also renting a car. I tried to find a place with the cheapest parking per day since most all of the downtown hotels charged for parking. I know how it is here in downtown Houston, kind of hard to get around if you are not familiar so hopefully we won't have much problem. If it is like most of the other showcases, you pretty much stay there all day and don't leave very often. I don't know if we'll have much time to sightsee very much. We are excited though and looking forward to it.