Three days, four sessions at Lucas Oil Stadium
Grand Nationals runs November 12 to 14, 2026 at Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 S. Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis. Music for All splits the three days into four sessions. Thursday Prelims fall on November 12. Friday Prelims fall on November 13. Saturday November 14 carries the Semi-Finals and the Finals.
The venue publishes one clock for all three days. The South Parking Lot opens at 6:00 a.m. The ticket office opens at 6:45 a.m. The East Gate opens at 7:00 a.m. Competition begins at 7:00 a.m.
The participating list carries a 24 September 2026 stamp. It names 96 bands from 22 states. Two exhibition ensembles close the field, West Chester University and Western Carolina University. Ohio sends 26 bands, Indiana 17 and Kentucky 10.
What the three days cost
Music for All's 2026 Grand National Championships Tickets at a Glance document carries the published prices. Thursday Prelims general admission is $35. Friday Prelims general admission is $35. A two-day prelims ticket covers both days for $55, which is $15 below the two single-day tickets and a saving of 21.4 percent.
Semi-Finals general admission is $48, or $75 for a reserved seat. Finals seating is reserved across six classes. Basic costs $25, Standard $40, Premium $60, Deluxe $80, Diamond $95 and Music for All Club $150. Saturday evening Finals require a reserved ticket for every person other than a lap child two years or younger.
Saturday carries two sessions, so a spectator buys two tickets for that day. Two adults on the lowest published path pay $256 across the three days: two two-day prelims tickets at $55, two Semi-Finals general admission tickets at $48 and two Basic Finals tickets at $25. A $75 reserved Semi-Finals seat and a $60 Premium Finals seat take the same pair to $380.
The under-ten rule and where it stops
The document states the rule in its own words: "Children 10 years old and younger will be admitted free for general admission seating for both days of prelims and for semi-finals."
That free admission covers general admission seating across the two prelims days and the Semi-Finals. Finals seating requires a reserved ticket for every person other than a lap child two years or younger.
A family of two adults and two children aged ten or younger pays $206 for the prelims and the Semi-Finals: two two-day prelims tickets at $55 and two Semi-Finals general admission tickets at $48. Four Finals tickets at the Basic class add $100, which takes the family to $306.
When to buy
The participating-band pre-order group form opened at 1:00 p.m. ET on July 6, 2026. Requests made by July 27, 2026 take precedent over requests made on or after July 28. The public sale opened on August 10, 2026 through Ticketmaster and the Lucas Oil Stadium Box Office.
The online group form serves orders of 20 or more. A single block is capped at 200 tickets, and a band may buy multiple blocks. An order for more than 200 tickets needs a grouping preference, and Music for All reserves the right to place a block by seat availability.
Ticketing is digital. The venue takes credit and debit cards and no cash, and the organisers ask spectators to buy in advance. A ticket or a pass is required to enter the stadium.
Where the rooms are
The venue's own lodging list carries 64 properties, every one in Indianapolis, from 0.03 miles to 9.97 miles from the stadium. Thirty-one sit within one mile, 21 within 0.62 miles and 14 within half a mile. The nearest is the Holiday Inn Indianapolis Downtown by IHG at 515 S West St. The distances carry the publisher's footnote, "Actual driving distance may vary."
The Indiana Convention Center counts more than 7,100 hotel rooms downtown and 4,700 connected to the centre by skywalk. Visit Indy's connected-hotels page counts 12 hotels and 5,200 rooms connected, and puts the total within walking distance at more than 10,000 once the downtown pipeline lands.
The bureau, for a band or a booster group
Every competing and exhibition band, and every booster group, that uses hotel accommodations must book through the Bands of America Housing Bureau. Individual spectators are not required to use it. After September 1 the bureau releases remaining unused or unneeded rooms under contract for individual booking, at the administrator's discretion. The organiser's timeline states that released rooms may afford better pricing with limited availability, particularly downtown.
What the venue publishes about cameras
Still photography is allowed from general admission seats. The field level is closed to still cameras. Tripods, bipods and monopods are not permitted. Video and audio recording is not allowed anywhere in the stadium.