Austin | Q2 Stadium (Austin FC) | Complete

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Just read about the big traffic snarls last night and the lack of parking at or near stadium. How did this thing get built without adequate parking? This looks to be a big problem for the immediate area going forward. https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/q2-...he-new-stadium

There's a huge amount of parking. Possibly more than needed (close to 6k spots, so you only need to average 3.5 people per car).

That's part of the problem. So many people driving to park.

Squeezing more spots into McKalla's 23 acres (instead of over in the Domain, where some of it is now) wouldn't make traffic better. It would make it worse. More drivers all trying to get into the same spot.


Edit/Add: This is a known, solveable problem. You have 10X this happening every day of the week, when at 5 PM 15k cars or more all try to leave jobs at the Domain. at least you did pre-Covid, and will again.


Add 2: This will get better, not only from possible changes/improvements the city will make, but also since it's the first time most of those people were ever there. Bunch of people having no clue where they're going, which turns to take, how everything works. As we get to season ticket holders going to their 3rd, 4th... game, they'll have their routine down. They'll know where the spot they reserved is (or if they didn't reserve a spot, they'll know that). Etc.

I'm actually a little curious how much of the problem was clueless drivers ignoring the repeated messaging that parking was reserved (and expecting to be able to pull up and park) that got turned away.

[StoOgE]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Just read about the big traffic snarls last night and the lack of parking at or near stadium. How did this thing get built without adequate parking? This looks to be a big problem for the immediate area going forward. https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/q2-...he-new-stadium

Everyone who took busses or the train seems to have had an easy time. I mean, UT football games have "adequate parking" and it can take 2 hours to get out of garages post-game.

The issue seems to mostly stem around the off-site parking being sold at the Domain that didn't have enough busses to get people to the stadium from the parking they were selling.

[ATXboom]

Agree adequate parking changes nothing traffic wise. I think what people are really complaining about is not knowing where to park and then a potentially “long” walk to the stadium once they do park. So it’s really convenience.

I missed the bus but know the stadium area well. I drove up Metic and parked at one of the hundreds of warehouses across the redline from the stadium. No traffic. Plenty of space. Short walk. Seems like very few know about this area.

Those business off metric would be wise to charge for parking and advertise their presence.

[atxsnail]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Just read about the big traffic snarls last night and the lack of parking at or near stadium. How did this thing get built without adequate parking? This looks to be a big problem for the immediate area going forward. https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/q2-...he-new-stadium

If there was a gigantic parking garage or lot built on-site, the traffic would have been many times worse, not better. On top of that, the human experience of walking through a sea of parking spots would have been awful on a hot day.

Most of the chatter I see on social media (Reddit, Twitter) is that people who expected to breeze through the Domain parking garage and catch a private shuttle immediately after the game were very much disappointed. There were also complaints about the app provided by the 3rd party vendor who handles the parking (Pavemint). Anyone who found their way using bus or train had a much better experience.

I expect a few things will happen over time:

• People will realize transit should be options 1, 2, and 3 for virtually everyone who is not mobility impaired. Unless you have a premium parking pass at the stadium lot, nothing will be as convenient as CapMetro.
• People will learn that parking at a CapMetro P&R or empty lot along a bus route is way faster and cheaper than using the current paid parking options.
• More businesses to the east of the stadium will open up their parking lots for paid parking, which should help ease a lot of pressure on the Domain garage. (The other lots on Burnet will go away however as they get redeveloped.)
• People who aren't going to the match will learn to pay attention to the schedule so they can avoid the area around game times just like they do with UT. They get an excuse for this one as it was a midweek non-MLS game they may not have heard about.
• People will be more likely to make a day out of weekend matches and will spread out their arrivals and departures over a longer period of time as they eat and drink at nearby businesses before and after games. The breweries were absolutely hopping. (unintended pun, I swear)

[AustinYIMBY]

An article from CBS Austin, about the long lines of cars along Burnet and Braker, was posted on Facebook. I made the poor decision, as I frequently do, of reading the comments. Almost all of the commenters were people saying how short sighted the city, team, developers, anybody else they could think of..., were to allow the stadium be built without "adequate" parking. But almost none of the people commenting actually went to the game, and those that did generally said they had no significant issues at all.
This isn't really surprising, but it is so depressing reading FB comments about anything related to Austin. There are SO MANY NIMBY's, and so many people that fail to grasp that cities change all over the world, and Austin growing up is not a unique thing.
Sorry, I know there was really no substance to this comment but it just drives me nuts reading all these comments from Monday morning QB's who also know very little about urban planning, transportation logistics, or really much of anything past "Austin used to be so much better blah blah blah...".

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Just read about the big traffic snarls last night and the lack of parking at or near stadium. How did this thing get built without adequate parking? This looks to be a big problem for the immediate area going forward. https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/q2-...he-new-stadium

as someone who was there, i did not experience this at all. yes, there was traffic as 20k people flooded the streets. however, anyone with common sense would expect that no matter the amount of parking at the stadium or not. i planned ahead and walked over to a brewery, waited 45 minutes while drinking a beer and Ubered home for 15 bucks.

there's no problem with the stadium. the problem is people expecting door to door service in their own cars.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Agree adequate parking changes nothing traffic wise. I think what people are really complaining about is not knowing where to park and then a potentially “long” walk to the stadium once they do park. So it’s really convenience.

I missed the bus but know the stadium area well. I drove up Metic and parked at one of the hundreds of warehouses across the redline from the stadium. No traffic. Plenty of space. Short walk. Seems like very few know about this area.

Those business off metric would be wise to charge for parking and advertise their presence.

In the meantime, you better hope those businesses don't contract with tow companies (for a piece of the action) and have those cars removed from their empty parking lots. You might find yourself making an unexpected trip to some tow service parking lot out by the airport and getting gouged for serious bucks to get your car back.

[myBrain]

I can't think of a time I've ever attended a major sports event where parking was both easy and close to the stadium. This city is so provincial sometimes.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by myBrain

I can't think of a time I've ever attended a major sports event where parking was both easy and close to the stadium. This city is so provincial sometimes.

What twaddle! Parking is available nearby or on-site at most Sunbelt sporting venues. It's how things are done in this "provincial" part of the world. Sure traffic often gets tied up in knots for a few hours, but fans know where they are going to park and about how much it will cost them to park either in a venue's parking facilities or nearby. That is one of the reasons that parking is not such a terrible hassle for UT games. Lots of quality parking nearby. Q2 offers about 1,000 parking spots for elite ticket holders only. Meanwhile, I guess The Domain qualifies as nearby, but it is a schlep. Parking back towards Metric is a dicier proposition for various reasons. Either direction, it is not a pleasant walk.

Here's how it goes down in some other "provincial" outposts:

Houston:
https://www.mlb.com/astros/ballpark/parking
https://www.nrgpark.com/parking-map/
https://www.toyotacenter.com/directions-parking

DFW venues:
https://www.mlb.com/rangers/ballpark...-and-rideshare
https://attstadium.com/stadium-info/parking/
https://www.mavs.com/tickets/my-mavs-info/parking/

San Antonio:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/115334440446018356/

New Orleans:
https://blog.spothero.com/saints-superdome-parking/

Atlanta:
https://www.pslsource.com/atlanta_falcons_parking
https://mktg.mlbstatic.com/braves/do...arking_map.pdf
https://stadiumparkingguides.com/sta...parking-guide/

Phoenix Basketball and Baseball parking:
https://parkingaccess.com/blog/chase-field-parking

Los Angeles venues
https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/ballpark...eneral-parking
https://www.lacoliseum.com/parking/
https://www.chargers.com/sofi-stadium/parking
https://www.nba.com/clippers/tickets...g_pricing.html

[StoOgE]

Yes, and tailgating culture exists because traffic leaving those stadiums is terrible. UT football is an absolute nightmare before and after games.

It's an urban stadium that will have rail access in a year. It'll be fine. Boston, Chicago, San Fran and NYC all manage to have major sporting events that don't rely on 15k cars at the stadium. We need to dream bigger and not shove a million parking garages in the area.

This is a 20k person stadium and 75% of it are season ticket holders, we'll figure it out and get good at going there.

[myBrain]

Originally Posted by austlar1

What twaddle! Parking is available nearby or on-site at most Sunbelt sporting venues. It's how things are done in this "provincial" part of the world. Sure traffic often gets tied up in knots for a few hours, but fans know where they are going to park and about how much it will cost them to park either in a venue's parking facilities or nearby. That is one of the reasons that parking is not such a terrible hassle for UT games. Lots of quality parking nearby. Q2 offers about 1,000 parking spots for elite ticket holders only. Meanwhile, I guess The Domain qualifies as nearby, but it is a schlep. Parking back towards Metric is a dicier proposition for various reasons. Either direction, it is not a pleasant walk.

Here's how it goes down in some other "provincial" outposts:

Houston:
https://www.mlb.com/astros/ballpark/parking
https://www.nrgpark.com/parking-map/
https://www.toyotacenter.com/directions-parking

DFW venues:
https://www.mlb.com/rangers/ballpark...-and-rideshare
https://attstadium.com/stadium-info/parking/
https://www.mavs.com/tickets/my-mavs-info/parking/

San Antonio:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/115334440446018356/

New Orleans:
https://blog.spothero.com/saints-superdome-parking/

Atlanta:
https://www.pslsource.com/atlanta_falcons_parking
https://mktg.mlbstatic.com/braves/do...arking_map.pdf
https://stadiumparkingguides.com/sta...parking-guide/

Phoenix Basketball and Baseball parking:
https://parkingaccess.com/blog/chase-field-parking

Los Angeles venues
https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/ballpark...eneral-parking
https://www.lacoliseum.com/parking/
https://www.chargers.com/sofi-stadium/parking
https://www.nba.com/clippers/tickets...g_pricing.html

Yep, I've been to a number of those venues and parking is always a hassle. Getting into and out of those big lots can take forever. The Domain really isn't a "schlep", the pedestrian experience needs to be improved but it's not horrible and easily within the same range as many of the lots are in some of your examples.

Q2 is also much smaller than any of the above. And has better public transport connections and more immediate highway access than some of them too.

It is provincial to expect to be able to park at a stadium as you would a strip mall, which is how the complaints sound.

I'm glad there's not a ton of parking. There are plenty of alternative modes of transportation available, and parking lots are wastes of space that are dead zones 90% of the time. Trying to emulate any of your examples is outdated thinking. It would turn the area into a gross sea of concrete.

[DaveinWimberley]

Originally Posted by austlar1

What twaddle! Parking is available nearby or on-site at most Sunbelt sporting venues. It's how things are done in this "provincial" part of the world. Sure traffic often gets tied up in knots for a few hours, but fans know where they are going to park and about how much it will cost them to park either in a venue's parking facilities or nearby. That is one of the reasons that parking is not such a terrible hassle for UT games. Lots of quality parking nearby. Q2 offers about 1,000 parking spots for elite ticket holders only. Meanwhile, I guess The Domain qualifies as nearby, but it is a schlep. Parking back towards Metric is a dicier proposition for various reasons. Either direction, it is not a pleasant walk.

Here's how it goes down in some other "provincial" outposts:

Houston:
https://www.mlb.com/astros/ballpark/parking
https://www.nrgpark.com/parking-map/
https://www.toyotacenter.com/directions-parking

DFW venues:
https://www.mlb.com/rangers/ballpark...-and-rideshare
https://attstadium.com/stadium-info/parking/
https://www.mavs.com/tickets/my-mavs-info/parking/

San Antonio:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/115334440446018356/

New Orleans:
https://blog.spothero.com/saints-superdome-parking/

Atlanta:
https://www.pslsource.com/atlanta_falcons_parking
https://mktg.mlbstatic.com/braves/do...arking_map.pdf
https://stadiumparkingguides.com/sta...parking-guide/

Phoenix Basketball and Baseball parking:
https://parkingaccess.com/blog/chase-field-parking

Los Angeles venues
https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/ballpark...eneral-parking
https://www.lacoliseum.com/parking/
https://www.chargers.com/sofi-stadium/parking
https://www.nba.com/clippers/tickets...g_pricing.html

My experience in parking for a UT game is ten buttf***s w/o lube worse than my experience at Q2 last night.
As far as professional games at the venues you mentioned, either you "know" where you can find an available parking place, and if you're wrong (which is OFTEN) you miss the first quarter, the first half or the first three innings finding one. Haven't you ever wondered why stadiums are so empty at the beginning of games?
Q2 is a cinch, and it will get easier with each game, because that's a place where you can 100% actually plan where to park successfully before the game, depending on what you are planning to do that night, not to mention, there will be added train and bus services, as they become available.

[drummer]

I've been to games in other countries where there are literally zero parking spots nearby. People have no option but to do public transit (which is setup better than here, of course) or park a distance away. It's just the nature of the beast with massive crowds in a small space.

I've also ridden the train to Newark Airport from NYC and the number of Giants fans going to a game was impressive! It was jam packed, but the atmosphere before a game day was actually kind of cool. I say that as a Cowboys fan and I was silently praying that they got creamed that day.

That said, this was literally the first game ever at Q2 Stadium. They'll figure it out. People will still complain, but they'll adapt and get over it.

[Armybrat]

Originally Posted by ATXboom

Agree adequate parking changes nothing traffic wise. I think what people are really complaining about is not knowing where to park and then a potentially “long” walk to the stadium once they do park. So it’s really convenience.

I missed the bus but know the stadium area well. I drove up Metic and parked at one of the hundreds of warehouses across the redline from the stadium. No traffic. Plenty of space. Short walk. Seems like very few know about this area.

Those business off metric would be wise to charge for parking and advertise their presence.

They’ll know about it now.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by austlar1

What twaddle! Parking is available nearby or on-site at most Sunbelt sporting venues.

As it is at Q2

Originally Posted by austlar1

but fans know where they are going to park and about how much it will cost them to park either in a venue's parking facilities or nearby.

As it is at Q2

Originally Posted by austlar1

Q2 offers about 1,000 parking spots for elite ticket holders only.

No, Q2 offers 850 spots on the actual city-owned McKalla property, then a couple thousand more on lots directly adjacent and contiguous to the McKalla property (effectively on site), Orange Lot and Gray Lot. Then several thousand more nearby (Domain Green Lot, etc.).

There's also almost a thousand city street spots as well, but that's not included in the 5k the team is offering.


Not counting people that live nearby (growing every day) or their visitors.


Again, how many spots do you need? It's a 20k stadium. You don't need 20k parking spaces.

[ATX2030]

If/when Arena Tower gets built that will add a few spaces for parking.

[We vs us]

Passed the site on my way home from work yesterday . . . do we know what's going to happen to the now-bulldozed lots south of Arena Tower?

[H2O]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Passed the site on my way home from work yesterday . . . do we know what's going to happen to the now-bulldozed lots south of Arena Tower?

They have been tight lipped, and I haven't pressed it. I'll ask Scot if he is willing to reveal anything yet.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Passed the site on my way home from work yesterday . . . do we know what's going to happen to the now-bulldozed lots south of Arena Tower?

Verde Square?

Office, Retail, Hotel and Apartments.

[papertowelroll]

I'm guessing that long term all the business nearby will rent out there lots for $20/space or so. That's how I've always parked at the Cotton Bowl, Alamodome, Jerryworld, etc.

I'm hoping with Q2 I won't even need to do that, if the train and bus works out relatively efficiently, but we'll see.