7. Manage and price parking at sports and mass events.

Mass events, such as soccer matches at Premier League stadiums or fairs and carnivals held in city centers, present a significant challenge in managing vehicle traffic and parking. The common approach to handling such events is to encourage attendees to arrive early and use public transportation. Additionally, event organizers sometimes provide shuttle services from park-and-ride lots. It is also common practice to close roads leading to the event site—sometimes two or three hours before it starts. For example, roads near stadiums are often blocked before important matches, including access to adjacent parking lots if they exist.

This approach, however, leads to several undesirable consequences:

1. Spectators cannot accurately estimate the time required to reach and leave the event, nor do they know where they can park. As a result, they must dedicate excessive hours to the event. For instance, soccer fans might need to allocate six or seven hours of their time for a game that lasts less than two hours.

2. Underutilization of parking lots near the event due to road closures, even when they are not at full capacity.

3. Severe traffic congestion around the event, obstructing both drivers who are not attending and passengers using public transportation or shuttle services.

4. Illegal parking on sidewalks and nearby streets, endangering pedestrians and event attendees.

A Better Approach to Parking Management at Mass Events

How can parking at these events be managed more effectively to optimize parking resources, reduce traffic congestion, minimize disruptions for local residents, and provide attendees with greater certainty in planning their time?

Parking management and pricing should be handled similarly to event ticket sales and pricing. Just as spectators purchase tickets in advance for a specific seat or section and pay more for better locations, they could also reserve a parking space in a nearby lot when buying their event tickets, paying according to the lot’s proximity to the venue. Parking spots could be allocated at the time of ticket purchase for an additional fee.

Setting prices for stadium parking and municipal parking lots would likely encourage private parking lot owners to offer their spaces through parking apps. In the current system, parking costs are implicitly included in the ticket price—reflected in traffic congestion, law enforcement efforts, and municipal regulations. If parking location and costs were explicitly factored into ticket pricing, it might even be possible to reduce ticket prices overall.

Attendees arriving by car would pay for both the ticket and parking at a rate comparable to, or only slightly higher than, the current total cost. However, they would benefit from greater certainty, reduced travel time, and closer parking proximity to the venue. Meanwhile, those using alternative transportation modes would also experience improved accessibility and shorter travel times at a lower cost than today.

Furthermore, the ticket price could include free access to all public transportation on the event day, similar to the system used in Germany. Of course, these measures should be complemented by proper street parking pricing, management, and enforcement.