Save Money at the Park, Vol. 2: Parking

Parking 

Here are some ideas for saving money on the parking.  Really, $3 isn’t a lot to ask once you’ve paid $40 to park at an NFL game or $25 at CBP or even, what, $10 or $15 at Dorney.  Certainly, though, the IronPigs are able to rake in a nice nightly cash take with the $3 per vehicle, but since I’m not privy to their deal with LSI for the parking lot, much of it could be going towards rent.  Still, if you’re coming every night, you might be able to save a few bucks.

1. Buy four club level seats.  Yes, spend money to save money.  It was a helpful way for me to justify to Mrs. Kram why I needed four seats instead of two.  Four club-level seats gets you a free preferred (I prefer the lower lot, but whatever) parking pass.  I was even able to get parking passes for the playoff games by asking really nicely at the window when I picked up my playoff tickets.
2. Park elsewhere and walk.  I’ve got a couple friends who do this.  They have family or other friends nearby and are able to park and walk.  Please be careful, though, one ticket for parking illegally will cancel out much of this savings. 
3. Show up late.  No promises, but they often stop collecting parking around the third inning or so.  The downsides are many, though:   You miss part of the game (against fan etiquette), you might not find a spot (new, larger capacity this year with the Tiki Bar), and you might have to walk a long way.  The carts might not be running at this point.
4. Show up early.  Again no promises, but if you’re there before the lots “open,” you can often park and no one will ask you for the $3.  I’ve been ready to pay it, but I’m not going to chase someone down to give away $3.
5. Remember to use your parking vouchers.  If you come on a night when it rains, and the game is not played, and you don’t have anything to do, stick around.  Because, once the game is officially a rain game, they’ll hand out parking vouchers on the way out.  Remember to use it for your next game.
6. Carpool.  It’s obvious, but also friendly to the environment.  If you know someone going to the game that lives near you, consider an arrangement.  For me, despite the parking pass, I often had two vehicles at the game last year, which was inefficient.   I need to do that much less this year.
7. Take the short bus.  It’s probably a joke, but Jason DiPro is threatening to purchase a small bus.  The IronPigs website says $3 per vehicle—nothing about size.  DiPro will paint the bus black and yellow and fly the IronPigs flag as well as the Noise Nation flag.  It’ll be great because we’ll get a bunch of folks in with one parking fee.  I do have one recommendation for him:  make sure the bus is roadworthy.  I would hate to see IronPigs fans get stranded on the highway (or in the woods…) on the way to an away game!  😉