Following the Jayhawks to New Orleans? Check this out

By Shaun Hittle     Mar 26, 2012

Are you so inspired by the Jayhawk’s Sunday win over the Tar Heels that you’re ready to catch them live at the Final Four in New Orleans? Here’s a guide to help you get there, stay there, and get in the Superdome for the March 31 and April 2 games.

Warning: It’ll cost you. And better act fast, because prices are climbing by the minute.

Getting there

• By automobile: It’s 872 miles from Allen Fieldhouse to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Google maps estimates the trip should take 14 hours and 31 minutes. To get there before the 5:09 p.m. start of the Louisville-Kentucky game, an ambitious traveler would need to set off from Lawrence at 2:38 a.m. Saturday. Of course, you need to factor in bathroom, food and fuel stops. So you’ll need to depart Lawrence much earlier.

If you fuel up in Lawrence, with gasoline prices about $3.70 a gallon, driving — based on an average 30 miles to each gallon — would cost about $215 round trip.

• By plane: Certainly a costlier mode of transportation, plane tickets leaving from Kansas City on Friday to New Orleans, and returning Tuesday, will cost between $1,200 and $2,500, according to a survey of several websites.

• By train: For $354, you could take an Amtrak train from Kansas City to New Orleans. However, the train would leave at 7:43 a.m. Friday, and not pull into New Orleans until 3:30 p.m., but still in time for tip off.

• By bus: To get to the Superdome for tip off, you’d have to leave Lawrence at 6 p.m. Thursday, and you’d arrive in New Orleans at 8:30 p.m. Friday — all for $143.

Where to stay

A search on Hotels.com shows the cheapest nightly hotel rate in New Orleans at the Maison St. Charles Quality Inn & Suites, at $299 per night. A four-night stay — which many of the hotels require for the Final Four — would cost about $1,200. Staying at the Maison St. Charles would put you at 2.1 miles from the Superdome.

Getting a seat

A variety of online ticket sites, such as StubHub.com and Primesport.com, are offering Final Four tickets on a ticket exchange program for groups of two to 20. The cheapest tickets, including both games, is listed at $175 per ticket. But if you have the cash, you can spend up to $15,000.

How’s that budget looking

If you carpool with one friend, drive to New Orleans, share a room, and buy the nosebleed seats, you can get in and out of the Final Four — not including KU championship shirts or food — for about $883.

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