Heading to Charlottesville to watch the Virginia Cavaliers take on the North Carolina Tar Heels brings the South’s Oldest Rivalry straight to Scott Stadium. With the venue set deep within the University of Virginia’s athletic grounds, getting your game day parking sorted means understanding how UVA organizes its official garages, donor lots, free shuttle staging areas, and private residential spaces. Whether you want to reserve a space ahead of time or find drive-up parking on game day, an early arrival plan will keep you from getting stuck in heavy traffic along US-29, Emmet Street, or Fontaine Avenue.

Where to Park for UVA vs UNC: Best Scott Stadium Parking Options

Your parking choice comes down to what you care about most: saving money, shortening your walk, or getting home quickly after the final whistle.

• For free parking with shuttle transport: Fontaine Research Park (Red Lots) is your best bet. Sitting just off the US-29 Bypass, it runs continuous shuttles straight to Scott Stadium.
• For a guaranteed spot within a 10-minute walk: Central Grounds Garage or a reserved driveway spot will get you closest to the gates without an athletic donor pass.
• For avoiding post-game highway bottlenecks: John Paul Jones (JPJ) Arena (Purple Lots) on North Grounds lets you pull right onto the US-250 Bypass or US-29 North without wading through campus traffic.

Free Parking Scott Stadium UVA: Locations and Arrival Tips

UVA offers free public game day parking at three primary satellite areas: Fontaine Research Park (Red Lots), John Paul Jones (JPJ) Arena (Purple Lots), and North Grounds at The Park and D3 Lots.

None of these locations require permits or passes, operating purely on a first-come, first-served basis. The setup off Fontaine Avenue remains a crowd favorite because it combines a multi-story deck with open surface spots. Even though these three locations hold thousands of vehicles, they fill quickly for high-demand ACC games. With a rivalry like UVA vs UNC, get there two to three hours before kickoff so you don't get turned away.

UVA Football Shuttle Schedule Scott Stadium: JPJ Arena and Fontaine Transit

The official UVA football shuttle schedule starts service three hours prior to kickoff, runs through the entire game, and keeps operating for 90 minutes after play ends.

Fans can hop on without a bus pass or game ticket. The buses run in tight loops directly from the main parking areas:

• Fontaine Research Park (Red Route): Picks up at the bus stop along the main Fontaine entrance road, just ahead of the roundabout.
• JPJ Arena (Purple Route): Serves JPJ surface lots, picking up along Massie Road and running riders straight to the gates.
• The Park / D3 (Blue Route): Boarding is set up near the Massie Road entrance to the D3 lot.

Drop-offs happen right along the East and West gates. Shuttle lines get packed as soon as the game finishes, so plenty of Fontaine parkers skip the bus queue and take the paved, lighted footpath back toward Fontaine Avenue instead.

UVA vs UNC Parking Cost: Official Garages vs Neighborhood Rates

Parking in an official university garage costs $25 to $30 on game days, while private spaces usually run between $20 and $40, giving you a few pricing tiers depending on how close you want to be.

University deck pricing breaks down as follows:

• Central Grounds Garage: $30 on game day (10-minute walk to Scott Stadium).
• Emmet/Ivy Garage: $25 in advance or at the gate (15-minute walk).
• South Garage (Crispell Drive): $25 in advance or at the gate (15-minute walk).

To skip long garage lines and lock down a space, you can reserve a driveway spot through Prked (rated #1 on Trustpilot in both the Parking Garage and Parking Lot categories) or pay a homeowner directly along Jefferson Park Avenue (JPA). Expect these neighborhood spaces to run between $20 and $40 for the UNC game.

Can You Pay Cash for Charlottesville Event Parking at Scott Stadium?

No, UVA garages do not take cash. Central Grounds Garage, South Garage, and Emmet/Ivy Garage run on card and contactless systems only.

If you want to use cash, look for residential yard parking along Jefferson Park Avenue, where independent homeowners take bills to let fans park on their grass or personal lots.

Official Garages vs Private Driveways: Why Book UVA vs UNC Parking Near Scott Stadium?

University decks give you an organized parking structure, but renting a private driveway or yard spot in the adjacent neighborhoods gets you closer to the gates and lets you leave much faster. When 50,000 people head for the exits, the winding ramps at Emmet/Ivy or South Garage can easily hold you up for 30 to 45 minutes. Neighborhood parking avoids those campus-core bottlenecks:

• Jefferson Park Avenue (JPA) corridor & Stadium Road: Sitting just east and southeast of the stadium, driveways along JPA and side streets such as Maywood Lane put you within a 5- to 8-minute walk of the East and South gates. When the game ends, you can pull onto JPA heading southwest toward Fontaine Avenue and the US-29 Bypass, reaching I-64 at Exit 118B without dealing with police street closures on Whitehead Road or Alderman Road.
• Fry’s Spring & Maury Avenue: South and east of the stadium along Maury Avenue, Cleveland Avenue, and Shamrock Road, private spaces sit 8 to 12 minutes away on foot. Heading out from here lets you shoot east on Cherry Avenue toward downtown or south via 5th Street Extended to reach I-64 Exit 120, avoiding the gridlock along Emmet Street and University Avenue.
• Lewis Mountain neighborhood: Just northwest of Scott Stadium on Lewis Mountain Road, Thomson Road, and Crestmont Avenue, these residential spots give you a quiet 7- to 10-minute walk to the West Gate. Leaving Lewis Mountain puts you straight onto westbound Ivy Road (US-250 Business) and the northbound US-29/250 Bypass without waiting on thousands of cars trickling out of multi-level decks.

Booking a spot through Prked is an easy way to lock in these neighborhood routes before arriving in Charlottesville, saving you from circling side streets on game day. The platform has a 5.0/5 rating on Trustpilot from over 750 reviews. Rates are often cheaper than the $25 to $30 charged by campus garages, you can check host reviews ahead of time, payments are handled digitally, and the homeowner is right there keeping an eye on their property while you watch the game.

What Time Do Scott Stadium Parking Lots Open on Game Day?

Scott Stadium surface spaces and VAF donor areas open at 8:00 AM on Saturday game days.

Students, faculty, and daily commuters should remember that commuter spaces near the stadium have to be cleared by 1:00 AM Saturday morning so the grounds crew can prep for crowds. The free satellite lots at JPJ Arena and Fontaine Research Park also welcome drivers and tailgaters starting at 8:00 AM.

UVA UNC Football Tailgating Lots: Rules and Designated Areas

Tailgating is permitted in designated open-air lots, but open flames and charcoal grills are strictly banned inside any parking deck.

In the open surface spaces at Fontaine Research Park, JPJ Arena, and donor-permitted VAF areas, fans are welcome to tailgate behind their parked cars. Propane grills are fine in these surface lots, but you cannot use charcoal grills, fire pits, or open fires.

The university also asks tailgaters to keep their chairs, shade tents, and coolers within their single parking boundary. Spreading gear across open stalls isn't permitted, since every space is needed for arriving cars.

VAF Football Parking Map Scott Stadium: Donor Lots and Permits

The parking lots right against the stadium perimeter, including Bryant Hall Lot, Chemistry Lot, Amphitheater, and Stadium West, are reserved exclusively for Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) donors.

Passes for these inner lots require specific annual donation levels:

• Coaches Club ($1,750+) and above: Can purchase one assigned, numbered parking pass right next to the stadium.
• Champions Club ($25,000+): Can purchase up to two premium passes.
• Sabre Club to Cavalier Club ($100 to $1,749): Eligible to request general-admission donor spaces in outer lots.

Staff monitor donor areas at all entry points. You must display your credentials, and officers will turn away unpermitted drivers at checkpoints on Alderman Road and Whitehead Road.

How to Access Your UVA Digital Parking Pass on Game Day

UVA Athletics uses fully digital parking passes for every donor and permit-only lot. Printed PDF receipts and hanging dashboard tags are no longer accepted.

To get your pass ready:

1. Open the Virginia Sports app or log into your Virginia Sports Online Account through your mobile browser.
2. Find the UNC game under your tickets and permits menu.
3. Select Add to Apple Wallet or Add to Google Wallet while you are still at home, as cellular towers near Scott Stadium get overloaded on game days.
4. Have the pass on your screen as you approach the perimeter so attendants can scan the barcode quickly.

Scott Stadium ADA Accessible Parking and Wheelchair Shuttles

Level 1 of the Fontaine Research Park Garage serves as the main ADA accessible parking area for Scott Stadium.

This floor offers marked accessible spaces and connects straight to wheelchair-lift shuttles. Because accessible spots are first-come, first-served and cannot be reserved ahead of time, plan to arrive 2.5 to 3 hours before kickoff. The shuttles drop passengers off right at the East and West gates so you can avoid steep hills and long walks.

Which Gate Should You Enter Based on Your Scott Stadium Parking Spot?

Match your entry gate to your parking location and ticketed section to cut down on unnecessary walking:

• East Gate: Best for sections 101–115, 301–315, 501–519, and the student hill. Take this entrance if you ride the shuttle from Fontaine or JPJ, or if you walk in from Central Grounds Garage or Jefferson Park Avenue.
• West Gate: Ideal for sections 116–131, 317–330, and 520–539. This gate is closest to the West Gate bus turnaround, the stadium deck, and the Alderman Road sidewalk.
• North Gate: Direct access for fans walking down McCormick Road or Alderman Road from the main dorms and upper campus.
• South Gate: Convenient if you take the paved path from Fontaine Avenue or walk up from the lower athletic fields.

Where Do Rideshare and Taxis Drop Off Near Scott Stadium?

Rideshares cannot drop off directly at the Scott Stadium gates and are rerouted to McCormick Road by the dorms.

Police shut down Stadium Road, Whitehead Road, and sections of Alderman Road around the stadium to keep pedestrian paths clear. Uber and Lyft drivers follow in-app geofencing that points them to curbs along McCormick Road. From there, you have an easy 7-minute walk down lighted sidewalks to the North or West gates. After the game, head back to McCormick Road before requesting a ride, because drivers will not be permitted through police checkpoints closer to the field.

Post-Game Traffic in Charlottesville: How to Exit Scott Stadium Smoothly

Charlottesville roads back up fast after Scott Stadium events, often leading to 30- to 60-minute delays once a rivalry game lets out.

With tens of thousands of fans heading out at once, several major intersections quickly stall:

• Fontaine Avenue & US-29 Bypass: Drivers leaving Fontaine Research Park create a long queue trying to merge toward I-64.
• Emmet Street (US-29 Business): Traffic moves at a crawl northbound past campus toward Barracks Road.
• Ivy Road (US-250 Business): Exiting Emmet/Ivy Garage creates a heavy slowdown for vehicles heading west toward the bypass.

To get out without sitting in gridlock, consider parking at JPJ Arena to exit straight north toward Route 29, or grab a private spot along Jefferson Park Avenue so you can use side streets toward downtown and the 5th Street I-64 ramp. If you have time to spare, hang around Grounds for 45 minutes after the game to let the worst of the traffic thin out.