Here is what catches most Baylor basketball fans off guard the first time they try to plan a group trip to Waco: the Ferrell Center and Foster Pavilion are two different buildings, and basketball moved. Since January 2024, every Baylor Bears home game tips off at the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion along the Brazos River, not at the Ferrell Center on University Parks Drive where 35 seasons of Baylor basketball lived. If your group shows up expecting to walk into the arena you watched on TV, you will be standing in the right parking lot for the wrong building — with a sold-out conference game starting in forty minutes two miles away.
A party bus or charter bus rental in Waco solves this before you even leave home: one vehicle picks your group up, handles the I-35 game-day congestion, and drops everyone exactly where they need to be, together the whole time.
This guide covers both buildings and the shuttle connection between them. The Ferrell Center is still a major Baylor venue — home to Women's Volleyball, Acrobatics & Tumbling, concerts, and commencement — and its south parking lot is the official campus park-and-ride hub for every basketball game at Foster Pavilion. Whether your group is coming for volleyball, a concert, graduation weekend, or Baylor Bears basketball, the transportation logistics here are different than most venues your group has dealt with before.
Read through once before you book, and the planning becomes straightforward.
TLDR: A charter bus or party bus to the Ferrell Center drops your whole group at the circular entrance drive off University Parks Drive, skips the I-35 exit backup, and puts everyone at the door together — with a free city shuttle running from the Ferrell Center parking lot directly to Foster Pavilion for every basketball game.
What Events Happen at the Ferrell Center Today
The Ferrell Center (1900 S University Parks Dr, Waco, TX 76706) opened in 1988 and spent 35 seasons as one of the great Big 12 basketball venues. After Baylor basketball relocated to Foster Pavilion at the start of 2024, the building went through a significant renovation — new chillers, updated A/C systems, retractable bleachers, and LED fixtures throughout the main arena, with work wrapping up in early 2026. The result is a freshened, fully operational arena sitting at the corner of University Parks Drive and Texas Highway 6 (LaSalle Avenue), a short walk from the Brazos River.
Today the Ferrell Center is the full-time home for Baylor Bears Women's Volleyball and Baylor Acrobatics & Tumbling. It also hosts major concerts — with an 8,000-seat configuration for events, the Ferrell Center is one of the largest indoor venues in Central Texas outside the Fort Worth and Austin markets — along with Baylor commencement ceremonies in May and December each year. For volleyball, the seated capacity runs around 7,500.
The full event calendar for concerts and special performances lives at concerts.web.baylor.edu, and the commencement schedule is published at the official Baylor commencement page.
And critically for basketball fans: the Ferrell Center parking lot is the official campus departure point for the free gameday shuttle to Foster Pavilion. More on that below.
Charter Bus & Party Bus Drop-Off at the Ferrell Center
For events at the Ferrell Center itself — volleyball, concerts, commencement — charter buses and party buses use the circular drive at the main entrance on University Parks Drive as the drop-off zone. Buses pull into the circular drive, unload the group, and move through. For guests with limited mobility, parking attendants can direct the vehicle to curbside drop-off within the same area before it stages in the lot.
Confirm any event-specific access updates before your group arrives on Baylor's Department of Public Safety Parking & Transportation page.
Getting there from I-35 is direct. Take the University Parks Drive exit from I-35. Heading south on I-35 (coming from Dallas or Fort Worth), turn east — that is, left — off the exit ramp.
Heading north on I-35 (coming from Austin, Temple, or Killeen), turn east — right — off the ramp. The Ferrell Center sits roughly half a mile east of the exit, right at the campus edge where University Parks Drive meets Highway 6. Baylor parking attendants direct traffic on University Parks Drive on busy event nights, so follow their guidance once you are in the corridor.
The large free parking lot surrounding the Ferrell Center is available for day parking and fills as a staging area for the basketball gameday shuttle.
Baylor Basketball Moved — Foster Pavilion Charter Bus & Party Bus Rental Guide
The Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion sits at Clay Ave and S University Parks Dr, Waco, TX 76707 — along the west bank of the Brazos River, on the west side of I-35. The $213 million arena opened in January 2024 and seats around 7,500 fans for Baylor Men's and Women's Basketball. It is a true downtown venue, which makes it harder to navigate than the Ferrell Center: Foster Pavilion is surrounded by a developing riverfront district, a 455-space Waco Parking Authority garage directly adjacent to the building, and a new River Front Garage adding roughly 450 more spaces nearby — but the parking supply is much tighter relative to a full crowd than anything groups experienced at the Ferrell Center during basketball season.
Baylor partnered with Kimley-Horn Engineers — the same firm that has handled traffic planning at AT&T Stadium in Arlington — alongside the City of Waco's transportation department to design the approach. The core of their plan is moving fans away from driving directly to the arena and toward coordinated arrival points with shuttle connections. That is useful context for your group: the venue's own traffic plan runs on the same logic as renting a bus — get more people arriving together, cut down on single-car traffic, and use coordinated drop-off zones instead of everyone hunting for their own parking spot.
Baylor estimates approximately 1,600 public parking spaces within a 5-to-20-minute walk of Foster Pavilion, spread across the adjacent garages and 10 free downtown Waco parking lots. For a group arriving by charter bus or party bus, the cleanest approaches are either a direct drop at the Foster Pavilion zone or a drop at the Ferrell Center lot to catch the free shuttle. See the official Foster Pavilion page for current parking and access guidance before your game.
Charter Bus & Party Bus Drop-Off at Foster Pavilion for Baylor Basketball
The designated drop-off and pick-up zone at Foster Pavilion is off University Parks Drive between the Clifton Robinson Tower and Clay Avenue — at the front side of the arena, steps from the entrance, per Baylor Athletics' official "Foster Forward: Getting to the Pavilion" guide. Your bus pulls to that zone, the group unloads, and the bus moves to a staging area while the game is on. Post-game, arrange the pickup window before the group goes in — the bus returns to the University Parks Drive drop zone when the group is ready, instead of everyone scrambling for rideshares on a congested post-game street.
The drop-off zone at Foster Pavilion is off University Parks Drive between the Clifton Robinson Tower and Clay Avenue — confirmed by Baylor Athletics. Your bus unloads the group at the arena entrance, stages off-site during the game, and returns to the same zone for pickup when the group is ready to leave.
For Waco sporting event transportation to Foster Pavilion, confirm current event-day drop-off logistics on the Foster Pavilion page before your specific game, as the City of Waco continues to refine access arrangements as the riverfront district develops around the arena.
The Free Baylor Gameday Shuttle: Ferrell Center to Foster Pavilion
This is the piece that makes the Ferrell Center directly relevant to every Baylor basketball fan in 2026. Baylor Athletics and the City of Waco operate free, ADA-accessible gameday shuttles running from the south end of the Ferrell Center parking lot on University Parks Drive directly to Foster Pavilion and back. According to Baylor's published game-day information, shuttles start at least two hours before tip-off and run until at least one hour after the game.
The buses use a leap-frog rotation — when one pulls in to pick up, the lead bus in the queue departs, so there is almost always a vehicle present at the Ferrell Center pickup point.
A second free shuttle route runs from Heritage Square at the 300 block of Austin Avenue downtown for fans using Waco's free downtown parking lots. Both routes feed into the same Foster Pavilion drop-off corridor off University Parks Drive. Current shuttle schedules are published by the City of Waco Baylor Gameday Shuttles page — confirm timing before your trip since schedules can vary by event.
For groups arriving by charter bus or party bus, the Ferrell Center lot approach works well when your group wants flexibility post-game: the bus drops everyone at the Ferrell Center, the free shuttle handles the round trip to Foster Pavilion, and the charter bus picks the group back up at the Ferrell Center after everyone returns. This setup is especially clean for groups extending the night into downtown Waco after the game, since the bus is already staged at the Ferrell Center lot instead of trying to navigate the post-game Foster Pavilion corridor.
Getting a Party Bus or Charter Bus Rental to Waco: Routes and Traffic
Waco sits squarely on I-35, the main spine of Central Texas, which is the route almost every visiting group takes regardless of where they are coming from. The distances are manageable in normal traffic but stretch considerably on sold-out game nights. From Dallas, Waco is about 100 miles south — roughly 90 minutes off-peak, two or more hours when the highway backs up around campus.
From Austin, it is about 100 miles north on I-35. From Fort Worth, the drive runs roughly 90 miles, typically via I-20 east to I-35 south or Highway 6 across. From Temple or Killeen south of Waco, the ride up I-35 is 45 to 60 minutes.
From Fort Worth, book at least two and a half hours on a Big 12 game day.
I-35 through Waco splits the campus from the east side of the city along a hard north-south spine. Groups coming from the Temple-Killeen direction approach from the south and can exit directly onto University Parks Drive. Groups coming from the east side of Waco — heading toward the Foster Pavilion side of campus — cross the highway to reach the riverfront.
On sold-out conference game nights, Baylor officials have historically recommended Loop 340 as an alternate bypass and treating LaSalle Avenue (Highway 6) as an access corridor into campus from the west, bypassing the heaviest I-35 congestion near the University Parks Drive exit. Build in extra time: on major game days, the I-35 exit ramp and University Parks Drive east of the highway start backing up well before tip-off. A charter bus handles that stop-and-go while the group stays comfortable instead of watching the clock in separate cars.
Transportation Options for Baylor Game Days: An Honest Comparison
| Option | Cost shape | Arrive together? | Drop-off point | Post-game exit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charter bus or party bus rental | One flat rate, split across the group | Yes — one vehicle, one arrival | Foster Pavilion University Parks Dr zone or Ferrell Center circular drive + free shuttle | Bus stages nearby; group boards when ready, on your schedule | 15–56 people |
| Free Baylor gameday shuttle (from Ferrell Center or Heritage Square) | Free (free parking too at Ferrell Center and downtown lots) | Only if everyone boards the same shuttle run | Foster Pavilion entrance via University Parks Dr | Shuts down 1 hour post-game; wait time varies | Flexible small groups, solo attendees |
| Rideshare (Uber / Lyft) | Per car, each way; surge pricing post-game | No — multiple cars, staggered ETAs | Varies; not always at arena entrance | Surge pricing and wait times spike after final buzzer | 1–4 people |
| Everyone drives and parks | Per car, per parking space, gas each way | No — groups split at parking | Up to 20 minutes on foot to Foster Pavilion from farther lots | All vehicles wait for congestion to clear before exiting | 1–2 cars maximum |
For one or two people, the free gameday shuttle is genuinely the smart call — no reason to charter a bus for a pair. But once your party reaches double digits, the coordination cost of separate cars — different arrival times, scattered parking locations, and the hassle of regrouping everyone afterward — tips decisively toward one bus. The free shuttle is excellent until it stops running an hour after the game.
If your group is planning to hit downtown Waco after the final buzzer, a charter bus or party bus rental stays on your schedule, not the city's shuttle timetable.
What Size Bus Does Your Baylor Group Need?
No two Baylor fan groups arrive the same way — and through transportation providers serving Waco, you can compare the full vehicle lineup and pick the right size for your headcount. Here is how the options break down for a Ferrell Center or Foster Pavilion trip:
| Vehicle | Seats | Best for | Key amenities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprinter Van Rental with Driver / 14-passenger Sprinter limo | Up to 14 | Small group, VIP arrivals, post-game bar stops in downtown Waco | Leather seating, USB charging at every seat, tinted privacy windows |
| Party bus (15–50 passengers) | 15–50 | Fan groups who want the pregame energy to start on the ride in | Built-in bar, color-changing LED lighting, Bluetooth sound system, flat-panel TVs, wraparound seating |
| 15–35 passenger minibus | 15–35 | Mid-size groups, Greek life events, church outings, corporate groups | Reclining seats, powerful A/C, overhead storage, WiFi on select vehicles |
| 40–56 passenger charter bus | Up to 56 | Large fan groups, alumni groups, school or travel teams, long hauls from DFW or Austin | Reclining seats, climate control, overhead storage, WiFi, power outlets, onboard restrooms, undercarriage luggage bays |
For fan groups who want the energy to build from the moment everyone boards — the LED lighting, the Bluetooth playlist, the pregame hype building before tip-off — a 15- to 50-passenger party bus is the natural pick for a Baylor game night. For groups making the longer haul from Dallas, Fort Worth, or Austin, a full-size 56-passenger charter bus gives everyone room to spread out, with undercarriage bays for bags and gear, plus an onboard restroom for the two-hour drive. ADA-accessible vehicles are available through transportation providers serving Waco — note your needs in the quote request and allow at least 48 hours before pickup.
Charter Bus & Party Bus Rental Prices for Waco Baylor Events
Pricing for a Waco charter bus or party bus rental depends on vehicle size, total hours needed, your pickup location, and the specific event date. Big 12 conference nights and sold-out games do see higher demand in the Waco market, so locking in well ahead of those dates matters. To give you an idea of what to expect — these are rough example ranges, not guaranteed quotes or current market data — a Sprinter Van Rental with Driver or 14-passenger Sprinter limo typically runs $125–$225/hour for Waco trips; 15–20 passenger party buses run around $150–$275/hour; 20–30 passenger party buses run $175–$325/hour; 35–50 passenger party buses and minibuses run $225–$375/hour; and a full-size 40–56 passenger charter bus runs $110–$225/hour or roughly $900–$1,800/day for a longer haul from DFW.
Actual pricing varies with your specific itinerary, the vehicle type, and the date.
Split across 20 or 30 people, one bus routinely beats the combined cost of multiple cars — each paying its own gas, each needing its own parking spot near a sold-out venue. One flat all-inclusive quote covers pickup, the game, the post-game plan, and drop-off. See the Waco party bus prices page for current rate ranges, or call 254-910-2420 any time for a free, all-inclusive price quote at no obligation — quotes are available in under 30 seconds online as well.
Baylor Basketball Home Schedule at Foster Pavilion
Baylor's home basketball schedule at Foster Pavilion typically runs from a November tip-off through Big 12 conference play in the winter and into March, covering 18 or more home dates most seasons. Non-conference games in November and December are usually the easiest tickets — and easiest bus bookings — to land, while Big 12 rivalry and ranked-opponent matchups see the fastest sellouts.
Big 12 conference play is where demand for Waco group transportation peaks. Rivalry games and ranked-opponent matchups are the first dates to see vehicle availability tighten in the Waco market. For any Big 12 home game, book your party bus or charter bus well before the week of — not the Monday before Saturday tip-off.
The full current schedule with dates, opponents, and tip-off times lives on the official Baylor Athletics men's basketball schedule page.
Baylor Women's Basketball plays a comparable home schedule at Foster Pavilion. Lady Bears games draw serious crowds and carry the same transportation dynamics — the same drop-off zone, the same free shuttle from the Ferrell Center lot, and the same booking-early logic for rivalry dates.
Volleyball, Concerts & Commencement at the Ferrell Center: Bus Planning Tips
Baylor volleyball at the Ferrell Center is a strong group outing — the Bears compete at a high level in the Big 12, and the renovated arena with its updated LED lighting and retractable bleachers makes for a genuine event atmosphere. Home volleyball matches run through the fall, with Big 12 competition intensifying in October and November. For concerts, the Ferrell Center's 8,000-seat setup gives Waco access to touring acts that skip smaller Texas markets entirely — check concerts.web.baylor.edu for the current lineup.
Baylor commencement at the Ferrell Center in May and December is one of the highest-demand transportation windows in Waco all year. Families arrive from across Texas and beyond, hotels fill quickly, and campus parking is extremely limited during ceremony hours. A charter bus that picks the family group up from the hotel, drops at the circular main entrance drive, and returns for pickup after the ceremony sidesteps the entire parking scramble for a commencement morning that is already stressful enough.
The official Baylor commencement page includes faculty and guest parking guidance — review it alongside your bus booking so the plan is airtight before the big day.
For any Ferrell Center or Foster Pavilion event, Waco group transportation through transportation providers serving the area covers any group size. If your crew is also headed to the Extraco Events Center for another Waco event, a minibus or charter bus can run a multi-stop itinerary without your group splitting across separate cars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does a charter bus or party bus drop off at the Ferrell Center?
The designated drop-off at the Ferrell Center is the circular drive at the main entrance on University Parks Drive (1900 S University Parks Dr, Waco, TX 76706). Buses pull into the circular drive to unload, and parking attendants are present during events. For guests with limited mobility, ask an attendant for curbside access prior to the vehicle staging in the lot.
Reach the Ferrell Center from I-35 by taking the University Parks Drive exit and turning east — left if southbound, right if northbound. Confirm current event-specific access details on the Baylor Parking & Transportation page before your trip.
Does Baylor still play basketball at the Ferrell Center?
No. Baylor Men's and Women's Basketball moved to the Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion (Clay Ave and S University Parks Dr, Waco, TX 76707) when it opened in January 2024. The Ferrell Center now hosts Women's Volleyball, Acrobatics & Tumbling, concerts, and commencement. For basketball groups, the Ferrell Center matters because its south parking lot on University Parks Drive is the official campus park-and-ride departure point for the free gameday shuttle to Foster Pavilion.
Where does a charter bus or party bus drop off at Foster Pavilion for basketball games?
The drop-off and pick-up zone at Foster Pavilion is off University Parks Drive between the Clifton Robinson Tower and Clay Avenue, per Baylor Athletics' published guidance. That puts your group at the arena entrance rather than a remote parking structure. Confirm current event-day access details on the official Foster Pavilion page before game day, as the City of Waco continues to update access arrangements as the riverfront corridor develops.
How does the free Baylor gameday shuttle from the Ferrell Center work?
Free ADA-accessible shuttles operated by the City of Waco pick up at the south end of the Ferrell Center parking lot on University Parks Drive, starting at least two hours before tip-off and running until at least one hour after the game ends. The buses use a leap-frog rotation — when one arrives to pick up, the lead bus in queue departs — keeping wait times short. A second route runs from Heritage Square at the 300 block of Austin Avenue downtown.
Current schedule details are on the City of Waco Baylor Gameday Shuttles page.
What I-35 exit do I take for the Ferrell Center and Baylor campus?
Take the University Parks Drive exit. Southbound on I-35 (from Dallas or Fort Worth), turn east — left — off the ramp. Northbound on I-35 (from Austin or Temple), turn east — right.
The Ferrell Center is roughly half a mile east at the corner of University Parks Drive and Texas Highway 6 (LaSalle Avenue). For Foster Pavilion, continue east on University Parks Drive past campus toward the Clay Avenue intersection along the Brazos River.
How much does a charter bus or party bus rental to the Ferrell Center cost?
To give you an idea of typical ranges — not guaranteed quotes — Sprinter vans and 14-passenger Sprinter limos run roughly $125–$225/hour for Waco trips; 15–20 passenger party buses run $150–$275/hour; 20–30 passenger party buses run $175–$325/hour; 35–50 passenger party buses and minibuses run $225–$375/hour; and full-size 40–56 passenger charter buses run $110–$225/hour. Pricing depends on vehicle type, total hours, pickup location, and the event date. All-inclusive quotes are available in under 30 seconds online, or call 254-910-2420 to talk through your specific trip and get free pricing from transportation providers serving Waco.
How far in advance should I book for a Baylor Big 12 game?
As early as your date is confirmed. Big 12 home games — Texas Tech, TCU, BYU, Arizona, ranked opponents — are the dates where the Waco vehicle market tightens fastest. Waiting until the week of a conference game usually means limited vehicle availability or higher pricing.
For volleyball matches and smaller Ferrell Center events, two to three weeks of lead time is typically workable. For commencement in May and December, book as soon as your graduation date is confirmed — families from across Texas all need transportation on the same narrow window of dates.
Is there parking near Foster Pavilion for large groups?
The 455-space Waco Parking Authority garage sits immediately adjacent to Foster Pavilion, and a River Front Garage adds roughly 450 more spaces nearby. Beyond those, Baylor estimates approximately 1,600 public parking spaces within a 5-to-20-minute walking distance, including 10 free Downtown Waco lots. For a group arriving by charter bus or party bus, the better approach is usually a direct bus drop at the Foster Pavilion zone or a Ferrell Center lot drop with the free gameday shuttle, rather than coordinating individual cars across multiple downtown lots.
Can the bus wait for us during the game and pick us up after?
Yes. A charter bus or party bus is booked as a block of hours and stages off-site during the game. Arrange the post-game pickup window before the group goes in — either at the Foster Pavilion University Parks Drive zone or at the Ferrell Center lot if your group is using the shuttle.
When the buzzer sounds and your group is ready, the bus is already in position instead of everyone racing rideshares amid post-game congestion.
Are ADA-accessible buses available for Ferrell Center or Foster Pavilion trips?
Yes — ADA-accessible vehicles are available through transportation providers serving Waco. Note your accessibility needs in the quote request and allow at least 48 hours before your pickup date so the right vehicle can be confirmed. At the Ferrell Center, parking attendants can direct vehicles to curbside drop-off for guests with limited mobility.
At Foster Pavilion, the drop-off zone off University Parks Drive provides close access to the arena entrance.
Book Your Party Bus or Charter Bus to the Ferrell Center Today
Whether your group is heading to a Baylor volleyball match, a concert, graduation weekend, or a Big 12 basketball game at Foster Pavilion — and whether you are dropping straight at the venue or parking at the Ferrell Center to catch the free shuttle — the right bus handles the whole trip in one booking. Compare party bus, charter bus, minibus, and Sprinter van options through transportation providers serving Waco, with all-inclusive quotes in under 30 seconds.
For football season, the McLane Stadium bus rental guide covers group transportation for Baylor Bears football with the same depth. And if your crew is extending the night on Waco's Riverwalk after the game, the Downtown Waco group night-out guide has the bar and restaurant stops your bus can connect on a single itinerary. The Waco group transportation services page pulls it all together for groups with bigger plans across the city.
Call 254-910-2420 any time to request estimates and get your Baylor game-day group moving — or use the online quote tool for free pricing in under 30 seconds. Sic 'em, Bears.
