approximate hotel rates for those curious:
Holiday Inn (1.6 miles from venue) = $113/night
Liberty Inn (2.0 miles) = $85/night
Hawthorne Suites (2.4 miles) = $125/night for a suite, $113/night with AAA card
University Inn (1.6 miles) = $75/night prepaid through hotels.com or the like
Best Western (1.7 miles) = $113/night with AAA card
there are others around too without online reservations, these are from the hotel chain\'s website except University, seem to cheaper on other sites though (ex: best western on hotels.com is $94)