Charging for Parking at Regionals.

[RobotsVsKittens]

Originally Posted by AmyPrib

Quit complaining. It's parking. It's a known cost. It always will be.

There was no cost for parking at SBPLI. As a volunteer, I don't think I'd have liked the idea of having to pay to park, but I probably would have anyway. Some of these numbers people are mentioning are quite high, if you're a poor college student and volunteering, $20-$30 on parking might prohibit you from attending.

Still, I wouldn't blame FIRST for it.. I am sure the people who plan the stuff are trying to get the most accessible venues they can. And free parking because you *might* make the world a better place? Silly.

[Ashley Weed]

The absolute worst venue I have been to for parking was the Pitt Peterson Center for the Pittsburgh Regional. The venue is directly across the street from one of the leading hospitals in the nation however only 3 or so handicapped parking spots were available. Nearby parking "garages" were available if you could walk to the venue, however one could easily expect the daily charge to exceed $20.

I have also attended the Mid Atlantic regional at two different venues, the Annapolis Regional, and the Finger Lakes Regional - never being charged at any of them.

Back in the days of Disney - if you came in during the early morning as the pits opened, they allowed you to park for FREE @ DISNEY.

[dangerousdave]

The Peachtree Regional is held at the Gwinnett Civic & Cultural Center, NE of Atlanta and does not charge to park a vehicle. That includes other events that are held there also, including hockey.

There will of course be parking fees around the Georgia Dome for the Championship event but you are downtown in a large city so of course there will be a fee. First can't tell all of the parking lot operators in a downtown area to not charge or give a reduced rate.

Dave

[Rick TYler]

Come join us at Portland. There are a bunch of hotels only a few blocks from the hotel, and it is a nice neighborhood. We park for free at the hotel and walk to the tournament venue (where you can park for the day for less than $10 -- or park for 30 minutes for free for loading and unloading people and gear).

[gburlison]

Denver does not sound too bad at $5.00 per day. ColoradoFIRST has done a good job of publicizing the parking fee. The regional is held in at the Denver University hockey arena and parking in and around the campus is scarce. The regional competition is held during spring break, otherwise the parking would be full of students.

[GeorgeTheEng]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Come join us at Portland. There are a bunch of hotels only a few blocks from the hotel, and it is a nice neighborhood. We park for free at the hotel and walk to the tournament venue (where you can park for the day for less than $10 -- or park for 30 minutes for free for loading and unloading people and gear).

That's actually a surprise to me. On the east coast, I don't know of any hotel in any major city that does charge for parking, even for guests.

[N7UJJ]

Arizona was $6 a day.

I don't really mind paying for parking. It's a cost of driving. But...

The multi million dollar basketball player, football player, singer, entertainer, etc. does NOT pay parking where they perform. Our teams are the performers that draw the crowd that pays for parking. It kind of bugs me that we are not offered the same courtesy.

The first year we went to the AZ regional, I did not relize they would charge for parking and all I had was my $5 for lunch. Bummer.

[Koko Ed]

PArking at FLR was free.
It's just not anywhere near the building (typical RIT) and don't get me started on the rent a cops!

[RobotsVsKittens]

Originally Posted by N7UJJ

The multi million dollar basketball player, football player, singer, entertainer, etc. does NOT pay parking where they perform. Our teams are the performers that draw the crowd that pays for parking. It kind of bugs me that we are not offered the same courtesy.

It is not practical to give some people a free pass for parking at FIRST event, and I think it would be impossible to do fairly.

Most importantly almost everyone who is there is some kind of supporter of FIRST. Let's be honest, FIRST audiences aren't really general audiences. I am sure they are overwhelmingly comprised of someone who knows someone on a team.

Who would get free parking? The students themselves? Volunteers at the event? What about parents who bring their students? What about students whose parents/family/mentors bring more than one car? What about someone volunteering at another event and attending another to see how it is run, maybe improve the other, or just to have fun.

Also millionaire performers are producing millions for the event. As much as you might be gouged by parking costs, it's not to the tune of millions of dollars for all attendees across the entire FIRST event.

If some people have to pay for parking and others do not at a FIRST event, imagine what kind of message that sends. They would be treated like just any random person going to a football game or a concert - their price to go to an event is purely an entertainment cost. I'm sure if you asked most of the people in the stands how to categorize their parking fee, it would not be purely entertainment. These people are supporting you in a very real way; not in the impersonal mass-produced way people "support" celebrities at large venues.

This is not to say the people in the stands are not having as much fun as anonymous concert-goers, they probably care about it more since they know you; but I think it is foolish to take for granted the very real relationship everyone performing at a FIRST event has with the audience and compare it to the mostly meaningless relationship someone has with a celebrity they're paying to watch perform.

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by Ashley Weed

I have also attended the ..., the Annapolis Regional, - never being charged at any of them.
.

At the Chesapeake, parking was free to all at the Stadium with shuttle buses running to the Naval Academy.

However the Regional Planning Committee picked up the tab. The parking was not free. We just did not pass along the costs to you. It is already a difficult enough place to access.

Parking at the Stadium normally costs $5/car.