Top 10 places every college football fan must visit in Auburn
By David Wasson
Published:
All across the Southeastern Conference, universities are either tucked into a greater metropolitan area (Kentucky, Tennessee, LSU, Vanderbilt) or woven directly into the fabric of the town itself.
Auburn is squarely in the latter. Heck, the town itself shares the name of Auburn University – a pubic land-grant research university in eastern Alabama that is home to over 28,000 undergraduate students that bleed orange and blue. And Auburn actually has a sister city – Opelika – that combines to boast around 150,000 residents.
College Town Season 2 is back at Saturday Down South. And this year, we’re rolling through Columbia, South Carolina; Auburn, Alabama; and Miami, Florida, in the all-new Toyota Tundra. Check out the Auburn episode below and click here to see every College Town episode from Seasons 1 and 2:
And while the university itself is bustling with all kinds of activities and places to see and do, there is plenty more to Auburn than… Auburn. Behold, here are the Top 10 Things To Do While Visiting Auburn, Alabama.
10. RTJ Grand National
Championship golf has a great home in Auburn, as the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Grand National property boasts 54 holes of stunning scenery. As one of the initial spots on the 11-stop RTJ Trail, Grand National offers 3 courses – the Lake Course, Links Course, and Short Course – to whet your competitive whistle. And with over half the golf course bordering the 600-acre Lake Saughatchee, it is no wonder tournaments like the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship, the NCAA Tournament and countless other events have called Grand National home.
9. Bunkers Auburn
C’mon, you’re in the South. So why aren’t you planning your day around some of the South’s very best food? On East Glenn Avenue just a block from Toomer’s Corner in the heart of downtown Auburn, Bunkers is the place to catch your favorite game – Auburn or otherwise. Open Wednesday-Sunday every week, Bunkers features a huge food and drink menu and more TVs than you can possibly imagine.
One of the coolest parts about Bunkers is their semi-private game simulator suites, each equipped with comfortable seating and the ability to accommodate up to 10 guests and offer an exciting experience with options for golf, football, and more. Try the world famous Bunker Burger or the loaded nachos, and be sure to stay for the live music many nights or even consider Bunkers for Sunday brunch as well!
8. Auburn Raptor Center
Ever wondered where the “War Eagle” rallying cry came from at Auburn? The Auburn Raptor Center is the answer – as birds of prey of all ilks call the center home. The Auburn Raptor Center exhibits hundreds of shows throughout the state and region each year, and the center’s educational staff conducts programs at the Edgar B. Carter Amphitheatre during home game weekends. The program, known as Football, Fans and Feathers, features hawks, falcons and eagles free-flown from flight towers, enabling guests to see the raptors up close.
Groups can schedule a visit to the Auburn Raptor Center by calling (334) 844-6943.
7. The Flower Store
Locals know The Flower Store on Moores Mill Road as not only the place to find the most exquisite blooms in all of Lee County, but also a place of vibrant artistry cultivated by owner Stanley Sistrunk. From the fine China and ornate glassware of the table settings and one-of-a-kind accents everywhere you look, The Flower Store is artfully decorated with luxury gifts, home goods and gourmet food items.
Of course, The Flower Store is home to gorgeous flower arrangements and greenery. But it is also known for original paintings by local artists, coffee table books and cookbooks, and eclectic accents for any level of event styling or simply inspiration.
6. Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
Known as The Jule Museum, Auburn’s on-campus museum of fine art advances research, outreach and instruction through its collections and programs in active and welcoming learning environments.
The museum’s permanent collection focuses mainly on 19th and 20th century American and European Art, and includes works by Romare Bearden, Ralston Crawford, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin, and Ben Shahn within its Advancing American Art collection. Within the museum’s Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Collection are prints by naturalist John James Audubon, and the museum also contains the Bill L. Harbert Collection of European Art, which features works by Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
5. 17-16
Football is woven into Auburn’s very culture, and that culture gets delivered in digestible form at 17-16. Named in honor of the Tigers’ legendary 17-16 victory over Alabama in 1972, 17-16 is the spot to be on every night after an Auburn game regardless of sport. The outdoor patio on East Magnolia Avenue is perfect to people-watch, and a menu that offers tasty treats like well drinks, slushies, margaritas, and tequila deals makes 17-16 an ideal place to soak in the Orange and Blue perfection of downtown Auburn.
4. Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center
Since opening in 2019, the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center has presented award-winning Broadway productions, welcomed internationally renowned musicians and acclaimed dancers, and witnessed the extraordinary power and potential of the performing arts firsthand.
In the heart of Auburn’s campus, The Gogue is adding the 3,500-square-foot Studio Theatre that can accommodate up to 250 patrons as well as renovating the 65,000-square-foot outdoor performance space called the Ham Amphitheatre.
3. Plainsman Park
Auburn isn’t just known for great football. At Plainsman Park, some of the nation’s best collegiate teams compete in one of the most charming and intimate parks in the country. Twice voted one of the top venues in the country for college baseball, Plainsman Park offers the brick backstop of Wrigley Field, the dark green chairback seats of Camden Yards and the Green Monster of Fenway Park.
The intimacy of the park extends to the position of the spectators. Front-row box seats are just four feet off the ground and only 40 feet from the first and third base bags. And the backstop is just 40 feet from home plate.
2. Toomer’s Corner
Anchored by Toomer’s Drugs Pharmacy since 1896, this is the nexus of Auburn. Officially the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and College Street, Toomer’s Corner marks the northeastern-most reach of the campus and the beginning of downtown Auburn.
Toomer’s Corner became an Auburn touchstone eons ago when employees at Toomer’s Drugs Pharmacy, after discovering that Auburn had won a football game before the team broadcast away games on radio, would throw the ticker tape from their telegraph onto the power lines. That has morphed into the tradition of “rolling the corner,” where Tigers fans throw toilet paper by the ton onto the intersection’s oak trees.
1. Jordan-Hare Stadium
Where the magic happens on fall Saturdays, Jordan-Hare Stadium is the nation’s 11th-largest on-campus stadium with a capacity of 88,043. On football Saturdays in Auburn, Jordan-Hare Stadium becomes Alabama’s fifth-largest city, and more than 75,000 season tickets have been sold to Auburn home games in each of the last 18 years.
The stadium is named for Ralph “Shug” Jordan, Auburn’s all-time winningest football coach, and Clifford Leroy Hare, a member of Auburn’s first football team, president of the old Southern Conference and longtime chairman of Auburn’s Faculty Athletic Committee. Jordan-Hare has undergone several renovations in recent years, including huge videoboards in each end zone to enhance the experience for Tigers fans.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
