Travel deals to bowl games open for WVU, Marshall football fans

Marshall University Football 2015 Intro Video
By Elaina Sauber, City of Charleston Reporter

As the Mountaineers and Thundering Herd gear up for their respective upcoming bowl games, ticket sales and travel packages have opened up to fans.

On Jan. 2, West Virginia University will take on Arizona State University in the 2016 Motel 6 Cactus Bowl, at Chase Field in Phoenix. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, which means a 10:15 p.m. kickoff for viewers in West Virginia.

The WVU Alumni Association and Mountaineer Athletic Club are offering a travel package for fans. It includes a three-night stay at Hyatt Regency Hotel, which is within walking distance of Chase Field; a WVU Welcome Reception and access to the Official WVU Pre-Game Party, according to PrimeSport, the official fan travel provider for the WVU Alumni Association. Prices start at $515 for a group of four to a room, and up to $875 for a single guest.

Airfare is not included in the travel package, said Kevin Berry, WVU Alumni Association associate director.

Fans are coming from all over the place, he said, such as Pittsburgh, Charleston and Washington, D.C. We decided with this, to focus on taking care of fans needs when they arrive in the Phoenix area.

Plane tickets from Yeager Airport in Charleston to Phoenix start at about $500.

Berry added that the alumni association is also planning additional fan-related activities during the stay, which runs from Dec. 31 to Jan. 3. Those will be outlined in an upcoming release, he said.

National Travel in Charleston is offering individualized travel deals for those who want to attend the game but have more flexibility in their travel options, representative Molly Murphy said.

Marshall Universitys football team will travel later this month to Florida for the St. Petersburg Bowl. The Thundering Herd will take on the University of Connecticut at 11 a.m. Dec. 26 at St. Petersburgs Tropicana Field.

Marshall Athletics is partnering with Anthony Travel to help fans book flights to St. Petersburg. Depending on the departure and return dates, tickets start as low as $280 for a round-trip flight from Charleston to Tampa, Florida.

Fans can make reservations at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront, where the football team is also staying, for $219 per night. Visit anthonytravel.com/marshall-bowl for more information on reservations, and herdzone.com to purchase tickets to the game.

National Travel also is working with nearby hotels to offer lower rates for Herd fans, as well as Allegiant Airlines, a low-cost carrier, for cheap, direct flights out of Huntington.

Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.

Source: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20151207/GZ01/151209598