This story was updated to add new information.
GREEN BAY – Green Bay Packers fans on Sunday will experience another of their conflicting encounters with Minnesota Vikings fans.
The Packers host the Vikings at noon Sunday at Lambeau Field. Secondary marketplace Vivid Seats predicts 18% of fans will be cheering for the Vikings. That's about 19% more than Packers fans profess to be willing to tolerate.
That said, Vikings fans interviewed during the game at Lambeau Field last season professed to feeling uniformly welcomed by Green Bay fans and businesses. They find coming to historic Lambeau Field a lot of fun. It is, after all, rated by USA TODAY as the best stadium in the NFL, Minnesota wins here about as often as it loses, and Lambeau's reputation as one of the most welcoming stadiums in the NFL holds true even for Vikings fans.
Last season, Vivid Seats predicted 33% of fans at Lambeau would be Vikings fans and there was a lot of purple in the stands. The likely difference this season is that the Packers were 2-4 going into that game and their season appeared to be spinning out of control, while this year they have higher hopes, precisely because last season they finished 9-8 and won a playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys and nearly another against the San Francisco 49ers.
Also, this season the Gold package season ticket holders, who hail mostly from southern Wisconsin, got a division game at noon, a rare occurrence for them — they actually get all three division games at Lambeau this season — and they might be parting with their tickets less willingly.
Sunday's weather will be perfect for fall football
Sunday's weather forecast is for sunny skies with a high near 76. Expect it to be warmer in the Lambeau Field bowl.
Sunday is eighth annual Packers vs. Cancer game
Football fans will receive a Packers vs. Cancer rally towel Sunday. The Packers, Bellin Health and the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation will team up for the eighth consecutive year to raise awareness and money for cancer research and care, and remind fans that early screenings save lives. Cancer survivors will be honored at the game.
The Packers Pro Shop is selling a new Packers vs. Cancer winter knit hat, with $5 from each sale going to the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation.
Titletown hosts Gameday Live activities and music
Four hours before each Packers home game, the Titletown District hosts Gameday Live festivities, including music, football activities and food and drink. Outlaw'd will perform from 8-11:30 a.m. Sunday ahead of the game. Admission is free.
The Titletown parking lot off Lombardi Avenue will be open for paid parking ($50), but tailgating is not allowed in the lot. Carry-in coolers, glass bottles and portable grills are also not allowed in the park. Like Lambeau, Titletown is cashless.
What time do parking lots and the stadium open?
Stadium parking lots open at 8 a.m. for a noon game. Access to the stadium bowl is available at 10 a.m.
Entrance to the Lambeau Field Atrium and Packers Pro Shop is available from 8 a.m. through the American Family Insurance gate. Other gates open at 10 a.m. The Packers Pro Shop and Lambeau Field Atrium are open to ticketed fans only. There is no exit/re-entry for noon and 3:25 p.m. games.
Parking available in neighborhoods around Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field parking lots are full with season ticket holders and people working the game. Parking is available on streets and in yards and commercial lots surrounding Lambeau Field. Yard and lot parking ranges from $50 near the stadium to $20 some blocks away.
Free street par king is available to those who get there early or are willing to walk. Most of the street parking is available on the Green Bay side of the stadium, that is, north of Lombardi Avenue, although some is available south and southwest of the stadium in Ashwaubenon, which has restrictions on streets nearer Lambeau.
Green Bay Metro offers free shuttle service
You can catch a city bus to the game.
Green Bay Metro offers four free shuttle routes , with buses leaving to and from Lambeau on the half-hour from 8-11 a.m. and again from the end of the game to 4:30 p.m. for noon games. Routes to Lambeau Field run from Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport, downtown Green Bay, the far east side of Green Bay and downtown De Pere.
Lambeau Field tops the list of best NFL stadiums
Lambeau Field is first in USA Today's annual ranking of NFL stadiums.
"Lambeau Field remains every bit the old school experience you want it to be, rising from the suburban grid of Green Bay to welcome NFL pilgrims to its hallowed grounds," wrote reporter Christian D'Andrea. "Between the history of the Hall of Fame and the frigid aluminum bench seats that freeze your Leinenkugel’s in the can each December, it’s perfect roughneck football. Go Pack Go."
Packers-Vikings game will be broadcast on CBS
Kevin Harlan, one of the best sports announcers in the business and the Packers' preseason play-by-play man, will call the game. He is joined by analyst Trent Green. Harlan is a native of Green Bay and son of former Packers President and CEO Bob Harlan.
In the map of noon games below, the Packers and Vikings game is in blue, Denver and the New York Jets in red, Jacksonville and Houston in green, and Pittsburg and Indianapolis in yellow. The map is from 506sports.com.
The game also is available on Packers Radio Network
Packers games can be heard on the Packers Radio Network, made up of 54 stations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and North and South Dakota. 97.3 The Game, WRNW-Milwaukee, is the flagship station of the Packers Radio Network. For a full listing of radio affiliates, go to packers.com/video/radio-network . Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) are in their 26th season of calling the action together.
Packers.com will stream the team's radio broadcast worldwide to desktop users. The Packers mobile app also will stream the radio broadcast within the Packers' home market, per NFL broadcast restrictions. The broadcast will start with the pre-game show at 10:05 a.m., Central Daylight Time.
Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area 10 times bigger than Brown County
Green Bay is the smallest market in the NFL , with a metro area population of 321,591, compared to Minneapolis-St. Paul, which has a metro area population of 3.6 million.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Things to know about Packers game: Good weather, Vikings fans and Kevin Harlan
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