Good thing for the program, but as a parking permit holder, I'm concerned, will this cause further shrinkage?
New practice facility - effect on football parking?
- Thread starter KingsportKat
- Start date
1600 fewer spaces. Season tix and parking have to be paid in advance and then a whole lotta people will be ticked come summer when they get a notification saying they have tix but no parking/tailgating. Can't imagine those same people keep all the tix the following year.
They should put in a full lot across Stadium Drive (where the pond used to be) It should be stilted due to the water table there, but they can go back to the old "grey" apartment complex. They should also increase the parking areas near the softball and soccer fields to also allow more football spaces. i wouldn't be against adding a garage if placed well or rebuild the corner one. Lots of room for growth with parking since the city took away all the yard lots and a lot more neighborhoods in area are restricted too.
I think it's unreasonable to expect fans to have to walk a few more steps 7-8 times a year. I think they should keep things the way they are in that regard. Put the new facility on UK's north farm out on Newtown. It would be a short 20- to 30-minute bus ride for the players and coaches every day. No big deal.
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Or if you are joking, then they should have to jog there and back after practice. That'll toughen them up.
BTW, you go find 1600 extra spaces less than 6 blocks from the stadium, thats a lot more than "a few more steps".
Take your Meds dude. The players need to walk there from the dorms and classes. They don't the luxury of a lot of extra travel time.
Or if you are joking, then they should have to jog there and back after practice. That'll toughen them up.
BTW, you go find 1600 extra spaces less than 6 blocks from the stadium, thats a lot more than "a few more steps".
Once the construction on the stadium is complete there will a recovery of most of the parking that was lost this past season in the Blue lot. Yes, with the practice facility those spaces will be lost...not certain of the net loss...but parking might get a little harder to find.
I know for most games last year there was quite a bit of open space in the Orange lot...I never recall seeing it full.
I wondered if they may have held the numbers of parking passes down so that they didn't have to take any more away once this coming season...perhaps just some rearrangements.
A little walk never hurt anyone, 2bunnies. In years past I've parked and walked from the Mormon Church, the street on the other side of the water tower at the arboretum and the far reaches of the purple lot. Hell, something caused me to get a really late start to the 06 Florida game and I had to walk all the way from Southland Drive.
The last few years I've been meeting the friend I share season tickets with at the old Turfland Mall and riding in together. Every single week on the way in we see thousands of people walking to the game from there, the Campbell House, St. Joe and all along Waller.
This post was edited on 2/9 9:42 PM by Beavis606
The last few years I've been meeting the friend I share season tickets with at the old Turfland Mall and riding in together. Every single week on the way in we see thousands of people walking to the game from there, the Campbell House, St. Joe and all along Waller.
This post was edited on 2/9 9:42 PM by Beavis606
I thought I saw somewhere that there will be a parking garage built somewhere near the red lot. That should help replace some of those spots.
I've walked from Glendover many times, since that is where I lived during high school and college. That is Really only about 3 blocks since the parking begins about that far away. In the mid eighties, there might be a 50 cars in that area at most, now over 300 and even spill into the church parking.
I have studied it tonight and this is a much larger change than last year.
For those lucky enough to still get a blue permit it should be great because about half of the cars competing for traffic lanes after the game will no longer be there. However, three to five thousand folks(1600 Times 3.5 per car) who used to be close to the stadium in the Blue and Purple lots are going to walk much farther and tailgate far far away from the stadium if they chose to do so.
My guess is UK regards tailgaters and RV,s as a nuisance which they have to keep in some manner because of the long history of tailgating at UK. However it does not bring them anymore money and I suspect they would just as soon phase it out which is what this new plan will go a long way in doing.
However if that is what it takes to have progress I am all for it.
It will be a much much different and less hectic atmosphere on the blue lot side. It will no longer be the "place to be to tailgate" Due to the facts not only will half of the folks be gone but another about 3000 parking in the new Blue VIP lot will be stadium club members or luxury suit guests and patrons and forego tailgating to take advantage of the $ 1250, 1500 dollar a seat stadium clubs,and luxury boxes which they have already paid for.
However ,change is good and never easy but people will adjust.
I am assuming that the powers that be will not allow tents on the practice field or FEMA area whatever that is. Hope I am wrong on that but doubt I am.
Another issue which my wife and I disagree on is what affect it will have on the huge tailgating rigs on the grassy area at the current blue lot end toward Nutter. We tailgated there for twenty years but left it last year because the noise from the large generators and smell were too much. I think most of those folks will have stadium club seats and forego it.
My wife disagrees and says they won't. Will be interesting to see who is right.
In any event the atmosphere there will never be the same taking seven to eight thousand tailgaters out of that area. 5000 due to 1600 lost parking spaces and 3000 VIP's attending the stadium clubs and luxury boxes
Shame to see tailgaters hit this hard but it obviously had to be done to achieve a much better program.
This post was edited on 2/10 1:34 AM by loucatfan
This post was edited on 2/10 1:38 AM by loucatfan
For those lucky enough to still get a blue permit it should be great because about half of the cars competing for traffic lanes after the game will no longer be there. However, three to five thousand folks(1600 Times 3.5 per car) who used to be close to the stadium in the Blue and Purple lots are going to walk much farther and tailgate far far away from the stadium if they chose to do so.
My guess is UK regards tailgaters and RV,s as a nuisance which they have to keep in some manner because of the long history of tailgating at UK. However it does not bring them anymore money and I suspect they would just as soon phase it out which is what this new plan will go a long way in doing.
However if that is what it takes to have progress I am all for it.
It will be a much much different and less hectic atmosphere on the blue lot side. It will no longer be the "place to be to tailgate" Due to the facts not only will half of the folks be gone but another about 3000 parking in the new Blue VIP lot will be stadium club members or luxury suit guests and patrons and forego tailgating to take advantage of the $ 1250, 1500 dollar a seat stadium clubs,and luxury boxes which they have already paid for.
However ,change is good and never easy but people will adjust.
I am assuming that the powers that be will not allow tents on the practice field or FEMA area whatever that is. Hope I am wrong on that but doubt I am.
Another issue which my wife and I disagree on is what affect it will have on the huge tailgating rigs on the grassy area at the current blue lot end toward Nutter. We tailgated there for twenty years but left it last year because the noise from the large generators and smell were too much. I think most of those folks will have stadium club seats and forego it.
My wife disagrees and says they won't. Will be interesting to see who is right.
In any event the atmosphere there will never be the same taking seven to eight thousand tailgaters out of that area. 5000 due to 1600 lost parking spaces and 3000 VIP's attending the stadium clubs and luxury boxes
Shame to see tailgaters hit this hard but it obviously had to be done to achieve a much better program.
This post was edited on 2/10 1:34 AM by loucatfan
This post was edited on 2/10 1:38 AM by loucatfan
Completely understand and agree with reallocating the parking spaces based upon KFund just like the stadium. Not sure why they couldn't have done it at the same time as the stadium seat reassignment. Letting people know whether they qualify for a parking pass when they picked tickets would've been much better than waiting until a few months before the season and after tix are paid for. Basically, it's just gonna give people another reason to complain about a situation that I think could've been avoided.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Just my opinion... But think UK football has been under a lot of ticket pressure over the past few years... It's just a guess but would imagine that retaining customers has high value... Whatever the ADept. does I think it'll be sensitive to keeping the base as happy as possible... In this regard I give the ADept an A+....
It's also just a guess on my part but with all the construction going on and the potential (i don't know ish) for an on-campus basketball facility... That might come into play... I go no clue how it all ends up with park spaces but If I were to guess (and I will) UK will try and utilize available space and continue to park as many cars as possible close to the stadium... The revenue from parking is an advantage that should be maximized...
In the short term we loose but long term could get them back +. ????
It's also just a guess on my part but with all the construction going on and the potential (i don't know ish) for an on-campus basketball facility... That might come into play... I go no clue how it all ends up with park spaces but If I were to guess (and I will) UK will try and utilize available space and continue to park as many cars as possible close to the stadium... The revenue from parking is an advantage that should be maximized...
In the short term we loose but long term could get them back +. ????
A new senior citizens center is being built off of Richmond Rd. Once completed it is my understanding the building on the corner of Alumni Dr and Nick Rd will be tore down and a parking garage built.
I understand the need to have top of the line facilities and support the expenditures for the improvements, however this project confuses me. UK currently has a practice/training facility that can be updated to the same level of the new facility for close to the same cost. Sure, it is not next to the stadium, but it is actually closer to where the players live and go to class, so that seems more practical. My main concern is that UK is spending money to take away guaranteed yearly revenue. The 1600 parking permits bring in approximately $480,000.00 per year at the current price. This is a stream of revenue that is in the budget if the team is doing well or not, because there has never been lack of demand for parking permits, these are always purchased. Now this yearly $480,000.00 will have not be found by another source.
Also UK Football parking is one aspect of the gameday experience that is superior than other SEC venues. I have been to, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn, UT, and Vandy and all have bad parking issues. The difference is UGA, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss allow you to tailgate on the campus and open the campus buildings to use the restrooms, etc. This is something UK has refused to do in the past and I do not see them doing in the future. I have a hard time seeing parking permit holders paying to park in a parking structure and not have a place to tailgate.
Also UK Football parking is one aspect of the gameday experience that is superior than other SEC venues. I have been to, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Auburn, UT, and Vandy and all have bad parking issues. The difference is UGA, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss allow you to tailgate on the campus and open the campus buildings to use the restrooms, etc. This is something UK has refused to do in the past and I do not see them doing in the future. I have a hard time seeing parking permit holders paying to park in a parking structure and not have a place to tailgate.
As stated above 1600 fewer parking spaces next season due to the next stage of Construction. Does anyone remember what the number of spaces that were lost last season with Stadium upgrades? Last season my K points were not enough to get my Blue but I did get my 2nd choice of Red Lot.
I had the exactly same reaction to this plan from the start. My best guess is that they have something really great (or lucrative) planned for the current Nutter complex site. Otherwise the location is curious.
As I understand it the new baseball stadium will also be built in the Purple Lot next to the soccer practice field. That's going to remove a significant number of parking spaces as well (not sure when).
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Posted from Rivals Mobile
When talking about revenue, we should also remember that UK sells all the spaces around the stadium to students/staff for daily parking. The school won't just lose spaces to sell to football fans, it will lose spaces to sell to these folks. I would think they have to be thinking about the school's overall parking needs, not just football's parking needs.
Also, what happened to this plan? It called for losing spaces directly in-front of CWS, but adding more around the baseball, softball, and soccer fields.
Edit: just realized that the baseball stadium in the link does not currently exist, and as stated above, would take away from the purple lot.
This post was edited on 2/10 10:55 AM by (Wildcat)
Also, what happened to this plan? It called for losing spaces directly in-front of CWS, but adding more around the baseball, softball, and soccer fields.
Edit: just realized that the baseball stadium in the link does not currently exist, and as stated above, would take away from the purple lot.
This post was edited on 2/10 10:55 AM by (Wildcat)
I do not know if Alabama charged, we were invited to the tailgate, as we were walking through campus. I would say they charged for the green space as they all looked to be well spaced out and with tents,TV;s generators etc, but the buildings were open to everyone. At UGA, Auburn and Ole Miss, you could set up many places on campus, first come first serve. The parking was in campus parking but you had to carry whatever you brought in to the tailgate, but again the buildings were open for use.
Clemson is like this also. Campus lots and greenspace are open for tailgating throughout campus. But, the more you go towards campus the further from the action and there arent many good places due to the hospitals and dorms. The VA does have one good lot that some secruity guard sits in all day and no one ever parks there (morons - UK or VA) losing out on some money. Other than that you are looking at the library and I think UK wants to keep that area reserved for academics and void of any distraction
They could open all the parking at the soccer/softball complexes (Im sure they will if they dont already).
They should open up the intramural fields for gameday parking. I know it will mess the fields up, especially if it rains but the grounds crew at UK can work on that if need be. The football field no longer requires their efforts so it could directed there.
I don't think that would work either. Coaches are funny about that. My grandson's coaches for all three teams he plays on make him use his basketball shoes ONLY on the basketball floor.
I am sure the coaches in other sports are protective about their fields as well. I would be.
Alabama uses the Quad for a large majority of tailgates. The Quad is a grid of tailgate tent spots that are charged for by the University. I know some University's set up and take down the tents for each rented space. I believe Auburn rents tailgate spots as well. The tailgate charge is a different charge from parking.
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