College Station in a Nutshell: Your guide to having a great time at 2017 PDC
College Station is the location of Texas A&M University, deep in the heart of Aggieland. From the outside, Aggies might seem to have a few traditions that seem strange, but for me and the friends that I have there, Aggies are the nicest and most welcoming people you could meet (Unless you start talking football).
You might be travelling to College Station for the first time this week. Maybe it's your first time in Texas. Make the most of your trip! I’ll list some of the must-sees while you’re at PDC.
- Kyle Field & 12th Man Productions
Witness the insanely large and the incredible craftsmanship of Kyle Field as well as the behind the scenes action during our tour.
“Over the past two years, Kyle Field underwent one of the largest and most extensive redevelopment project in the history of collegiate athletics. The redeveloped Kyle Field features an expanded seating capacity of 102,733, making it one of the five largest stadiums in collegiate football. The $485 million redevelopment was completed in two phases and made its debut for the 2015 season. The Aggies have welcomed more than 100,000 fans per contest to Kyle Field since the start of the 2014 season, including the stadium record of 110,633 for the Ole Miss game on Oct. 11, 2014.”
2) Royalty Pecan Orchard
Through PDC, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the inner workings of a pecan orchard. Royalty Farms is family owned and operated and features a gift shop. With a variety of pecans, there’s not much this place can’t make out of pecans. Bread, coffee, pies and plain old pecans. YUM!
3) Dixie Chicken and the rest of Northgate
Dixie Chicken is the original birthplace of the Aggie Ring Dunk )If you don’t know what that is, you’ll need to look that up yourself), but they also have some pretty good food and it’s not that far from the hotel. Northgate features a variety of restaurants and places to grab a refreshing beverage if you get thirsty.
4) Texas A&M Equine Center
Another tour available is the the tour of the equine center. Texas A&M University is home to several state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to the care and use for horses, all in support of the teaching, research, outreach and service mission of the university. There are four total facilities in use, including the Thomas G. Hildebrand, DVM ’56 Equine Complex, the Dick Freeman Arena & Equestrian Center, the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, and the Reproduction Pavilion. Each of theses has a specific role in the education of Aggies with an interest in equine.
I’m not an Aggie, so I don’t know as much about TAMU as they would, but don’t be hesitate to ask around and don’t forget to give a friendly “Howdy” to everyone you see.