Parking, vehicle relocation information for UK football home opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 31, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Wildcats will face the Youngstown State Penguins Saturday, Sept. 5, at Kroger Field, for the first home game of the season. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
UK looks forward to welcoming fans to campus for this game, which means some permit holders will need to relocate their vehicles.
Relocation details
Students and employees who park in the following lots and structures should relocate their vehicles prior to 7 a.m. on game day:
- Periphery (RK, CK and EK) parking lots at Kroger Field (Blue, Red and Orange lots), Commonwealth Drive Lot and Purple Lots (College Way East and West and Wildcat Court Lot).
- Sports Center Drive Garage (PS #7)
- Sports Center Drive Lots (including the C16 Sports Center Track Lot)
- Shively Lot (R16 and C16)
- Woodland Avenue Lot (E-Intermediate)
- Columbia Avenue East Lot (E-Intermediate)
- Ag Greenhouse Lots near the Agriculture Science Center North Building
In addition, students who park in the Green Lot should relocate their vehicles prior to 10 p.m. on the Friday before home football games.
Parking along University Drive is prohibited beginning at midnight on game days. The metered roadway in front of University Flats, off University Drive, is also unavailable.
In addition, the Gluck Equine Center Lot and a portion of the Orange Lot are restricted to UK Football recreational vehicle (RV) permit parking starting at 7:30 p.m. on the Friday before home football games.
Individuals who will be leaving from these areas prior to 7:30 p.m. are authorized to park there; however, vehicles remaining in the restricted areas after that time will be relocated by the university to the designated vehicle relocation area, located at the southwest corner of the Orange Lot adjacent to the Orange Lot Alumni Drive exit.
See this map for details about the Orange Lot RV areas.
Following the game, vehicles must be moved back to permitted parking areas before 5 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8. (Monday, Sept. 7, is Labor Day, an official university holiday.)
The vehicle relocation map with a complete list of relocation times is available here. Failure to relocate your vehicle to the designated areas can result in a citation or vehicle impoundment.
In addition to vehicle relocation, there are some changes to the weekend Yellow Route on home football game days. On these days, the buses do not travel to the congested Kroger Field area. Instead, they turn near University and Hospital drives and travel through all major residential areas of campus. The modified route starts two hours pre-game and continues one-hour postgame.
If you have questions about football relocation areas or procedures, email UK Transportation Services or call the customer service center at 859-257-5757.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and healthcare. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $1.02 billion research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.