PITTSBURGH -- Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans are familiar with the Motor City after the team beat the Seattle Seahawks there in 2006 to win the Super Bowl, and the Penguins lost to the Detroit Red Wings in last year's Stanley Cup Final.
Watch Janelle Hall's ReportOn Friday night, the Penguins will go back to Detroit for the decisive Game 7 in their Stanley Cup rematch, and many fans are expected to follow them.
From downtown Pittsburgh to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, fans are looking at a 285-mile trip, which will take about 4 hours and 35 minutes.
At $2.40 a gallon, gas for a car that gets 20 miles per gallon would cost about $34 each way, and that doesn't include toll costs.
Calculate Your Own Gas PricesFor larger groups, Anne Williams' Sports Vacations company has a bus. For a roundtrip ride, a ticket to the game and a one-night hotel stay, the totals vary from about $750 per person (upper-level ticket) to $1,250 per person (lower-level tickets).
"I just think Penguin seats are hard to come by," Williams said. "Season ticket holders don't let them go, and in Detroit -- I'm sure, because of the economy -- they don't have as many season ticket holders. You could actually go on Ticketmaster and buy tickets, where in Pittsburgh, there's no way."
One bus is sold out and names are being taken for a second bus. Williams said the trip "gives fans the opportunity to meet other fans, have a great time, meet new people, kind of have that group feeling of, 'We're going into Detroit and we're going to bring home the Cup.'"
Once in Detroit, you'll need a place to stay, too.
The Metro Inn is about six miles from the arena. If you like convenience, expect to pay a lot more for a room at the Sheraton Detroit Riverside Hotel less than a quarter mile from the arena.
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