[Travis Hoffman]

Wow, I saw that pic, and before I read the caption, I thought you must have parked at the Ampco parking lot across the street from the Wolstein Center at the corner of Carnegie and East 18th. I say this because on Friday night, four cars were found to have their windows smashed out and articles stolen from within, including the car of one of Team 48's Collegiate Mentors. This is the same lot from which another 48 mentor's van was stolen in 2002 at the Buckeye Regional. All of these crimes were committed in broad daylight while the regional was in action. The very helpful CSU policemen we flagged down to help us said that this kind of crime was an epidemic in the city, one fueled by drugs. I'm sure regional organizers and the City of Cleveland Chamber of Commerce are thrilled to have me mention this to thousands of potential paying visitors in future seasons, but visitors need to know the risks they take by parking in these lots.

Don't ever pay to park in any unsupervised Ampco lot near the arena. There are CSU police patrolled lots and fully monitored lots around where you pay a bit more for better peace of mind. I parked in a $5.00 attendant-on-duty lot on the other side of the arena on Saturday, and there were no problems.