Parking problem for new arena.Season ticket holders getting screwed

I wondered about this issue. The thing is that I always told people not to expect the parking garage to be a source of parking for everyone. There are only 2500 spaces in the lot and that was well-publicized during the campaign.

I didn't realize they would only allow club seats to use them. I assumed they would offer first-come-first-serve parking passes or something to that effect.

It was common knowledge that there wouldn't be close to enough parking in the garage, though. Even the Texans don't have nearly enough parking in their lots for games. The Astros have no parking dedicated to ticket holders.

It does suck, though, that they won't even offer parking to regular fans, if that is the case.

 

if you can afford a season ticket you can afford parking, somepeople wish they could have 1 ticket. Or even a car to park.

 

hahahaha are you one of the some people?

They should have enough parking space for all drivers... WTF

 

I've never had a problem parking downtown for Astros game. I've always been able to park either for nothing (if I can get a parallel space after 6pm when they are free) or for $4 or $5.

That is part of the cost of moving downtown. I'll admit that it is no fun but the only thing I could honestly see as a partial solution is just offering those 2500 spaces to everyone, not just the club seat holders. But, even if they did that, you'd have to pay for them just like at Reliant for paid spaces.

I agree that it is not the optimal solution. I'd rather pay nothing. But, I'm not sure that there is a reasonable solution. If they just opened the parking garage to anyone on game day, it would be a nightmare turning people away. It would be much worse than just taking reserved spaces up front.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what else to do. That is the nature of parking downtown. I found out a while back that some people have to pay to park just to go to work at an office as an employee. Ouch.

 

There will be no PSLs for the rox (or is that just what it "sounds" like by including the word "finalizing"?). But they may be pushing for them "discreetly" by doing the parking thing.

Is the public transport system in houston bad (i can't remember.. been over a decade...)? If it works, the downtown (i'm assuming CBD downtown, not slum downtown) location should be easy to get to.. that way you can drink & not become a danger on the roads. That's how we get 50000-90000 fans to football games here every fri, sat & sunday, and people home again safely

http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39864

 

an after thought...

given the price of beer at games, maybe you don't want to be placed into a position to buy lots of drinks

 

There are almost never PSL's in arenas. I'm not sure why they've never had them, but traditionally, it just doesn't happen in arenas like it does in stadiums.

Public transporatation in Houston is a complete joke. Even light rail won't help once it is completed in 2004 because it will run down Main Street from downtown to the medical center. At its closest, it passes about 8 to 10 blocks from the arena.

Metro has run shuttles for Enron and I assume they'll have something like that for the arena too. I will say that I never mind walking to Enron in downtown. Given that basketball season is mostly during cool weather, it might even be pleasant.

Otherwise, there is just no easy answer for parking in downtown.

 

I completley agree with you Movie Maniac. I just purchased my season tickets, and I plan on continuing to renew them for years, but this just sucks. I knew the parking situation wouldnt be as easy or conveinent as it is at The Summit, but there has got to be a better plan. What exactly is a club member anyway? I know there arent enough club seats in the new arena to fill a 2500 space parking garage.

 

Movie,

It's good you sent an email to Tim. I'm sure he'll help clear it up for you. That's his job. But, a couple of things about your email...

Reliant Stadium suffers from an ingress and egress problem, not really a lack. Yes, they are short of parking but that is why Metro is now involved. Their major problem is that there are only 3 or 4 routes into that area unlike downtown where there are at least a dozen and probably more.

As for the Astros, they do not have any parking for fans other than the large lots across 59 (which fans pay for). I would have to believe most people would rather park in a $5 lot 4 or 5 blocks from the arena rather than one that is 8 to 10 blocks, which is how far the Minute Maid lots are.

Actually, the opposite will very likely be true. The Astros have pushed or exceeded 3 million plus fans each of the three years they've been at the ballpark downtown. They never drew that many at the Astrodome. Not even close. In fact, parking for them has been a blessing to many fans who were used to paying $4 at the Astrodome and waiting in REALLY long lines like Texans fans have now.

I understand this and it is a valid concern, however, crime in downtown is actually much lower than crime in other parts of town. It has been for many years so I doubt that will be a big issue, particularly if you are in a pay lot.

I do agree that the 2500 parking spaces in the parking garage should be a first-come-first-serve basis. Just handing them to club seat owners seems a little cheesy to me too.

But, as for the rest of the parking issue, I'm not sure what to do about that. It just comes with downtown. I doubt the Rockets are going to buy up a bunch of lots or build more garages. It's just not practical. There are pros and cons to every building proposal and parking is just one down there that might be an issue for some. As long as there are places available and the traffic getting to and from the area isn't awful, though, I doubt you'll hear many complaints overall.

 

Actually, between club seats and luxury suites, that probably covers the 2500. There are 16,000 seats in the new arena (if memory serves) but the capacity is 18,500 when you add club seats and suites. But, I agree there should be a better plan than just handing them to your richest fans.

 

I stand corrected, I know your the man when it comes to the new arena. For some reason I thought there were more than 16,000 "normal seats". Even still, lets say there is 2500 club seats, not everyone is taking a car, the typical car at sporting events has 2-3 people in it. At least thats what Steve Patterson of the Texans said when he was talking about the parking situation at Reliant. Hopefully the Rocks will think of something better.

 

I go to a lot of Astros games at Minute Maid Park and I've never had a problem parking. In fact, I never pay for it. I park right off of Polk at a free meter (after 6) and catch the shuttle, I'm sure the Rockets will have similar arrangements with Metro. All you have to do is find a free spot near a shuttle route. I agree that offering parking to just the club member is bs, but having a nice, brand new arena in the downtown area is enough for me to get over it. As someone said, the weather is nice during bball season and downtown has a lot of cool things to do nowadays and will only get better with the addition of the arena. My words of advice, get over it, if the money is the problem then you just have to do a little walking, it's good for your health anyways.

 

I have had no problems parking downtown. I think its a great area and since its downtown its centrally located for everyone with so many ways in and out of the area.

I have had good luck with Metro as well for city events. At the designated lots the busses show up every few minutes and generally drop you off right in front of the destination.

Its unfair to hammer them on this issue, its not a problem in the downtown area.

However, it is a giant problem around Reliant Stadium. Everything was slow and difficult. But its preseason and very likely they will improve it before the opening game.

Just my 2 cents.

 

If your coming inbound from 59 (Southwest Frwy) what exit do you take for the new arena?

 

The thing that will not be fun is leaving the game or entering the game during one of ournoah's ark downpours!!!

What is cool about the parking at the summit..errr..compaq...errr HP center is that the parking is covered.....oh yea and free!!!

But, I would rather have paid covered than uncoverd free or uncovered paid...that is me though

 

One word:

Trolley

(not as good as MONORAIL, but still....it makes parking downtown a breeze)