Stadiums, arenas & big events
Ohio State Game Day Towing Around the Horseshoe
When the tailgate is over and the car will not cooperate, call one number for a jump, a lockout or a flatbed out of the campus traffic.
- Open 24/7, 365 days
- Flatbed-only fleet
- Price quoted before dispatch
- Licensed & insured
Ohio Stadium has hosted Buckeyes football since 1922, and on a home Saturday it pulls more than a hundred thousand people onto the west side of campus. Most of them arrive by car, park hours before kickoff, and leave at the same moment. That is exactly when a weak battery, a lost key fob or a soft tire turns into a problem, and it is why Ohio State game day towing is its own kind of job for us.
Auto Lyft USA runs four light-duty flatbeds from Harrisburg Pike, and the drive up to the Woody Hayes Drive and Lane Avenue area is a short one when the roads are open. On game days they are not always open, so our dispatcher plans the approach around the crowd instead of pretending traffic does not exist. Sometimes that means a jump start in the lot and you drive home. Sometimes it means waiting a little for the postgame crush to thin before a carrier can reach you.
Either way, you get a price before anyone rolls, a live estimate of when the truck will get there, and a driver who knows that a tailgate lot is not a highway shoulder. If the car does need to leave on a flatbed, we can take it home, to your shop or to an independent repair partner near the University District.
What goes wrong at a Buckeyes tailgate
Most game day calls are not crashes. They are slow, quiet failures that build up over a long day parked in one spot. A grill, a TV and a speaker running off the car for six hours will flatten a battery that was already tired, and a cold November morning makes it worse.
- Dead batteries from running accessories, interior lights or a radio during the tailgate. A jump start is usually all it takes.
- Keys locked inside while the trunk was open for the cooler, or a fob that went missing in the crowd. See our car lockout service.
- Flat tires from curbs, debris and broken glass in packed lots.
- Cars that start but stall or overheat in the slow crawl out toward SR-315 or Olentangy River Road.
- Vehicles that sat overnight after the game and will not turn over Sunday morning.
Helping the dispatcher find you on campus
Campus parking is a maze of numbered and lettered lots, garages and private driveways rented out for the day. We would rather not guess. Read us the name or number on the nearest lot sign, the closest street, and anything a stranger could spot from the road: a stadium gate you can see, a building name, a pedestrian bridge, the river.
If you parked at a house or business that rents spaces, give the street address. If you are in a garage, tell us the level and whether the nose of the car faces a wall. A flatbed needs room to back up and tilt its deck, so a car boxed in on all sides may need a little help from the attendant before we can load it.
Timing the call around the crowd
Calling early is always fine. If you know at halftime that the car is dead, or you notice a flat when you walk back after the fourth quarter, phone us right away so you are in the queue. Then stay with the car, or near it, so you can wave the driver in.
Right after the final whistle, police usually control traffic around the stadium and the lanes out of campus fill quickly. A truck coming in against that flow can take a while. The dispatcher will tell you honestly whether it makes more sense to wait for the lots to empty, and you can use that time to grab food rather than stand in the cold.
What a game day call costs
Our published rates do not change because it is a football Saturday. Roadside work such as a jump, a lockout or a spare going on runs $75 flat, with travel from our yard billed at $4 per mile. A tow is $125 to hook up, $7 per loaded mile and the same $4 en-route charge. Saturdays and Sundays carry the standard $50 weekend fee, and a night game that ends after 10 PM also picks up the overnight fee.
You hear the total before we dispatch, and you can also run the numbers yourself on the estimate page.
Ohio Stadium game days: what drivers ask
Do you offer Ohio State game day towing during the game itself?
Yes. Dispatch runs around the clock, including the hours when the stadium is full. The roads near Woody Hayes Drive and Lane Avenue are busiest right before kickoff and right after the game ends, so a call in the middle of the third quarter can actually be one of the easier times to reach a car. Tell the dispatcher where you are parked and we will work out the best approach.
My battery died from running a TV at the tailgate. Do I need a tow?
Probably not. A battery drained by accessories usually takes a jump just fine, and then you can drive home and let the alternator recharge it. If the battery is old, swollen or keeps dying, the driver will say so, and a flatbed can haul the car somewhere for proper testing. Our guide on why a car won't start explains the difference.
I locked my keys in the car near Ohio Stadium. How fast can you open it?
We cannot promise a number of minutes on a game day, because traffic around campus changes by the quarter. Expect a live arrival estimate from the dispatcher once we know your spot. The unlock itself is quick, and the driver uses proper lockout tools rather than a coat hanger. You will need to show ID that matches the registration or prove the car is yours before we open it.
Can a flatbed get into the campus parking garages?
Some campus garages have low ceilings that a carrier cannot clear. Tell us which garage you are in and the level. If the truck cannot fit, the driver can often get the car running with a jump or a tire change so you can drive it out, or bring it down to street level for loading where that is possible.
What do I tell you if I don't know the name of the lot?
Give us whatever you can see. A street sign, a nearby building, which side of the stadium you are on, how far you are from the river or from Lane Avenue. You can also drop a pin from your phone and text it to us. A good description of your car, including the color and anything on the roof, helps the driver pick it out of thousands.
Will you leave my car on campus if it can't be moved right away?
We do not leave a job half done. If a carrier cannot reach the car until the crowd clears, the dispatcher will tell you that up front and give you an updated estimate. If you need to leave with friends, you can arrange for us to meet someone else at the car, or come back for it later once you have the keys sorted out.
Where can you take my car after a game day breakdown?
Anywhere reasonable. Most fans have us take the car home or to their regular mechanic. If you are from out of town, we can bring it to an independent partner shop that diagnoses and quotes the repair, or back to our yard on Harrisburg Pike while you decide. We are a towing company, not a repair shop, so the repair decision stays with you.
Is there an extra charge for towing on a Buckeyes Saturday?
There is no special game day price. The standard weekend fee of $50 applies to any Saturday or Sunday call, and the overnight fee applies to any call between 10 PM and 6 AM. Everything else follows the normal rate card, and the dispatcher reads you the full price before the truck leaves.
Can you help if my car was towed from a private driveway near campus?
We are not the company that removed it, so we cannot release it. A car pulled from private property in Columbus usually goes to the towing company named on the posted sign. Once you know where it is and have paid to release it, we can pick it up from that lot if it will not start or you cannot drive it.
Car won't go?
One call: your spot in Ohio Stadium, your vehicle, your destination. We price it on the spot.
Services here
Auto Lyft USA is an independent towing company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Ohio State University, Ohio State Athletics or Ohio Stadium.
Where the trucks start
Calls from Ohio Stadium are dispatched from Harrisburg Pike (US-62) on Columbus's southwest side, around the clock, 365 days a year.
1620 Harrisburg Pike
Columbus, OH 43223
Phone: (614) 633-8163
Email: lisa@autolyftusa.online
Directions to the yard