For thousands of Ohio State football fans, no football game day would be complete without the essentials – a Buckeye win, a cold beverage and a visit to Hiney Gate.Billed as “The Largest Tailgate Party in the Country,” Hiney Gate has grown from a small gathering of around 300 to 500 people to a massive undertaking which welcomes around 12,000 to 15,000 to the Holiday Inn on the Lane for every home football Saturday, gathering national attention from several renowned publications, such as Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal. Hiney Gate coordinator Marty Sims has watched the party grow from day one, slowly making it one of the premier hot spots on game day.”This is better than we ever dreamed of,” Sims said. “We’ve evolved from a sapling of sorts with a young, small crowd, and now we have a nice mix of college students, alumni and older people. It’s a safe party and a lot of fun.”Hiney Gate began slowly in 1983, as Sims looked to bring in an older crowd to give them an alternative to the typical party crowd. But the addition of the Danger Brothers Band late in 1983 gave the party the springboard it needed.”You have tons of Ohio State fans who come down and they’re all ready to eat and drink and have a good time,” said Shawn Moore of Schmidt’s, which has a stand directly across from the band stage. “It gets a little crazy at times, but it’s a good time had by all.”The craziness is quite evident for the thousands attending each Hiney Gate outing, but the main objective is to have fun.”We don’t have the gung-ho football fanatics (at Hiney Gate) who die if the Buckeyes lose,” Sims said. “Of course, we’re happy if we win, but we’re not devastated if we lose. After about 20 minutes, we’re just glad to be together, having a good time.”Over the past few years, Hiney Gate has expanded even more, adding a giant television screen, which allows the party to stay open throughout the game. Sims estimated they keep about 1,000 people at Hiney Gate during the game. With so many people constantly in attendance, it makes the preparation for the event even more important.”We start ordering in May,” Sims said. “With the quantities we need, we have to start early and then just hope we get the right quantity. We have to get everything from Portajohns to ice to beer. It’s a big process.”The process is ongoing throughout the season. Sims had to order more souvenir cups after the original quantity of 120,000 ran out after the Michigan State game on Nov. 4. Beer sales at Hiney Gate are astronomical, as one vendor estimated they go through between 220 and 230 kegs on an average game day. With Michigan in town Saturday, those numbers will only go up.Hiney Gate has also joined in the recent trend of commercialization, using its success to attract some major sponsorship while continuing to expand.”It’s grown a lot and it’s more commercialized,” beer vendor Stacey Stevens said. “They’re really into sponsorship now. It’s this kind of bratwurst and this kind of alcohol. There’s more beer trucks now and they have the big screen TV.””It’s kind of weird because there used to be a variety of beers, but now it’s strictly Budweiser,” said Donna Stevens, a 14-year Hiney Gate vendor and mother of Stacey. “Every wagon used to be a different kind of beer. People would ask ‘where’s the Michelob, where’s the Miller, where’s the Bud?'”With its tremendous success, Hiney Gate is giving back to the community to benefit under privileged children, donating to charities such as Secret Santa, Charity Newsies and the Hannah Neil Society. “This year we will give about $240,000 to $250,000 to charities in Columbus,” Sims said. “We only give to locally-based charities which benefit kids. We have quite a few people who are giving their money and it benefits the kids of our community.”With the success of Hiney Gate, several other similar tailgates have popped up along Lane Avenue. It isn’t slowing Hiney Gate down, though.”I see people copying our format as a form of flattery,” Sims said. “There’s enough fans out there for everyone to be successful. We just want everyone to be successful and safe.”