It's now $60 (yes, Sixty) just to park at a Penn State football home game

[slackmax]

Rant mode on.

My outrage for this week.  I was reading up on my alma mater Penn State and noticed this fact.

You can buy a parking pass in advance for $25 (also pretty darn high). But if you drive up on gameday and want to park in their lot, they will charge you $60 if you don't have a prepurchased pass.   

It's getting out of hand !   

There are workarounds of course like parking at an offsite shuttle location and getting a bus, etc. 

I'm sure there are a million reasons why Penn State will say the high parking fees are a good thing, blah, blah, blah. I don't want to hear them.

Yeah, I don't have to go, I get it.  Or I can load up one car with 6 people at $10 each, etc etc.  But $60 for one car is just ridiculous.

Rant mode off, lol. 

[ecchastang]

Rant mode on.

My outrage for this week.  I was reading up on my alma mater Penn State and noticed this fact.

You can buy a parking pass in advance for $25 (also pretty darn high). But if you drive up on gameday and want to park in their lot, they will charge you $60 if you don't have a prepurchased pass.   

It's getting out of hand !   

There are workarounds of course like parking at an offsite shuttle location and getting a bus, etc. 

I'm sure there are a million reasons why Penn State will say the high parking fees are a good thing, blah, blah, blah. I don't want to hear them.

Yeah, I don't have to go, I get it.  Or I can load up one car with 6 people at $10 each, etc etc.  But $60 for one car is just ridiculous.

Rant mode off, lol.

It costs a lot of money to pay the athletes what they are worth.  Oh, wait, that's right.....they aren't paying the athletes.  Never mind.

[OtherJen]

Rant mode on.

My outrage for this week.  I was reading up on my alma mater Penn State and noticed this fact.

You can buy a parking pass in advance for $25 (also pretty darn high). But if you drive up on gameday and want to park in their lot, they will charge you $60 if you don't have a prepurchased pass.   

It's getting out of hand !   

There are workarounds of course like parking at an offsite shuttle location and getting a bus, etc. 

I'm sure there are a million reasons why Penn State will say the high parking fees are a good thing, blah, blah, blah. I don't want to hear them.

Yeah, I don't have to go, I get it.  Or I can load up one car with 6 people at $10 each, etc etc.  But $60 for one car is just ridiculous.

Rant mode off, lol.

It costs a lot of money to pay the athletes what they are worth.  Oh, wait, that's right.....they aren't paying the athletes.  Never mind.

Yup.

[RWD]

They charge it because they can and people will pay it.

[seattlecyclone]

Parking lots aren't free to build and maintain, and there are only seven home football games per year. $175/year for these parking spots (for the likely majority that are paid in advance) or $420/year for the folks who don't know any better and pay on game day (likely fans of the visiting team) doesn't seem like an outrageously large amount of revenue for these spaces.

[markbike528CBX]

Is this the grass tailgate section or a paved part? 

If tailgaiting in the grass, that is pretty outrageous.

You are then privileged to sit in the world 3d largest sports stadium.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity

The last time I was there was Joe Paterno's last year. A 500mm lens was barely enough to distinguish his features.

The stadium capacity would hold over two thirds of the population of Centre county, in which it resides.

[WhiteTrashCash]

That's a lot of money for people to pay to go to a special place and have an excuse for their alcoholism.

[marty998]

Parking lots aren't free to build and maintain, and there are only seven home football games per year. $175/year for these parking spots (for the likely majority that are paid in advance) or $420/year for the folks who don't know any better and pay on game day (likely fans of the visiting team) doesn't seem like an outrageously large amount of revenue for these spaces.

Sounds like a lot of money to build a stadium to only be used 7 times a year.

[slackmax]

Is this the grass tailgate section or a paved part? 

If tailgaiting in the grass, that is pretty outrageous.

You are then privileged to sit in the world 3d largest sports stadium.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity

The last time I was there was Joe Paterno's last year. A 500mm lens was barely enough to distinguish his features.

The stadium capacity would hold over two thirds of the population of Centre county, in which it resides.

Markbike,

It's the grass tailgating section (although they sometimes direct you to a paved lot if the grass is full). 

As often happens to me, I remember the good old days when they charged $2 or something per car and $1 for each passenger, or something like that. Way back in the eighties or nineties.   

But, like a previous poster said 'they charge $60 because they can, and people will pay it'.  (many people, but not all)  Supply and demand, sigh...   

[seattlecyclone]

Parking lots aren't free to build and maintain, and there are only seven home football games per year. $175/year for these parking spots (for the likely majority that are paid in advance) or $420/year for the folks who don't know any better and pay on game day (likely fans of the visiting team) doesn't seem like an outrageously large amount of revenue for these spaces.

Sounds like a lot of money to build a stadium to only be used 7 times a year.

Indeed! The amount they charge for tickets probably makes the cost back and then some though. It's really crazy what the big college games cost to see in person.

[Padonak]

If taxpayers aren't paying for it, why does anybody care how much they charge for parking or anything else? If you like it, pay it, if not don't go there. Vote with your wallet.

[PDXTabs]

They charge it because they can and people will pay it.

☝️

Market forces.

[Dancin'Dog]

They aren't even in the SEC!  ;)

[Villanelle]

They charge it because they can and people will pay it.

Actually, it may be more complex than that.

My dad did some consulting for some toll lanes.  If the lanes have too much traffic, they jack up the prices ridiculously, to discourage use (and to make a buck, of course, but it's more the former than the latter).

It's entirely possible that they've jacked up prices for this parking lot because it fills up too quickly if it's cheaper.  $60 may well be what they hop is the tipping point.  It doesn't drive (ha!) enough people away that it doesn't still sell out, giving them maximum profit, but it does drive enough people away that it doesn't sell out too quickly, leaving people disappointed and frustrated when they show up 2 hours before a game and it's already full and they haven't arranged for anything else.

[markbike528CBX]

There really isn't anywhere else, except
   Amish cornfield,  muddy with a chance of cowpies.
   Temperate Forest (think jungle-y)

That being said, Penn State is THE local professional team.  In Central PA, the Eagles and the Steelers are of no particular note.

  Favorite bumperstickers and buttons
        If GOD isn't a Penn State fan, why is the sky blue and white?
        Shitt on Pitt  --- I'm revealing some age here....

Edit spelling

[MasterStache]

O-H

[MasterStache]

I-O

[waltworks]

Free parking is why we have traffic jams and morons in giant diesel trucks driving half a mile to get lunch at Taco Bell.

Where I live (ski resort) everyone complains constantly about the traffic during peak season (you can get around on the bike paths and ski trails easily so it has never affected me much) which does get really bad. If you propose making skiers pay for parking - even a token $5 or something, there are howls of outrage, though.

Instead, they want to widen the local state highway to 7 lanes from 5 (at very considerable expense). They project that will keep the congestion at current levels for the next 5-7 years, after which they'll have to revisit as things jam to the point of being unusable.

Apparently the whole concept of a tragedy of the commons is foreign to folks around here.

Parking *should* cost a freaking fortune, not just for football games but everywhere and all the time.

-W

[marty998]

Thread does make me think of when Homer Simpson was charging for parking on his lawn. $10 per axle and a tank rolls by. Woo Hoo!

If taxpayers aren't paying for it, why does anybody care how much they charge for parking or anything else? If you like it, pay it, if not don't go there. Vote with your wallet.

Fill me in if you can, but is this partly the reason why a college education is so expensive and student loans are so high? Someone has to pay for the capex to build the stadium right?

[waltworks]

Fill me in if you can, but is this partly the reason why a college education is so expensive and student loans are so high? Someone has to pay for the capex to build the stadium right?

Actually, a strong argument can be made that college is expensive because of all the free government money (loans) floating around. Since you can get enough loans to attend any college, no matter how expensive, there's no real constraint on the prices they can (and will) charge.

If I ran the circus, the government would get completely out of the funding of college game.

-W

[WhiteTrashCash]

For $60, you could probably join a local league at a public recreation area and get your own exercise instead of watching other people exercise. But I'm not a big drinker, so I guess I don't really understand the value of watching sports.

[Indexer]

I also live in a city where there is a Football stadium. Traffic near the stadium used to be a nightmare for miles in every direction on game day.

We solved it with public transportation. You can pay $25+ to park near the stadium when there is a game, or take the light rail for $4 round trip. This has significantly cut down on traffic on game days.

[eljefe-speaks]

Is this the grass tailgate section or a paved part? 

If tailgaiting in the grass, that is pretty outrageous.

You are then privileged to sit in the world 3d largest sports stadium.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity

The last time I was there was Joe Paterno's last year. A 500mm lens was barely enough to distinguish his features.

The stadium capacity would hold over two thirds of the population of Centre county, in which it resides.

Assuming equal distribution of birthdays throughout the year, during a sold out game, over 300 people in the stadium are celebrating their birthday.

As for the $60? I am fine with it. People carrying thousands of pounds of metal with them everywhere they go is silly and should be discouraged as much as possible. Park a few miles out and ride a bike.

[eljefe-speaks]

I-O

Haha, you gave people a day to respond but did not have any takers. Wish I found the thread sooner!

I-O!

[eljefe-speaks]

Instead, they want to widen the local state highway to 7 lanes from 5 (at very considerable expense).

Traffic is a gas. It fills any container. So soon you will have 7 jammed lanes instead of 5. Hooray!

[Tyson]

They charge it because they can and people will pay it.

That's capitalism.

[ecchastang]

I-O

Haha, you gave people a day to respond but did not have any takers. Wish I found the thread sooner!

I-O!

Roll Tide......but games are still too expensive to not pay players.

[soccerluvof4]

TV

[MasterStache]

I-O

Haha, you gave people a day to respond but did not have any takers. Wish I found the thread sooner!

I-O!

Haha, I jumped the gun. Just a little friendly big ten banter.

[Just Joe]

Is this the grass tailgate section or a paved part? 

If tailgaiting in the grass, that is pretty outrageous.

You are then privileged to sit in the world 3d largest sports stadium.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stadiums_by_capacity

The last time I was there was Joe Paterno's last year. A 500mm lens was barely enough to distinguish his features.

The stadium capacity would hold over two thirds of the population of Centre county, in which it resides.

Assuming equal distribution of birthdays throughout the year, during a sold out game, over 300 people in the stadium are celebrating their birthday.

As for the $60? I am fine with it. People carrying thousands of pounds of metal with them everywhere they go is silly and should be discouraged as much as possible. Park a few miles out and ride a bike.

I'm not parking my ebike at a stadium unless there is better parking security. ;) We've driven to games while visiting the big city and rode the train to a baseball game in NYC. I prefer the mass transit solution over car parking.

[accolay]

I solve the parking problem at my alma mater by neither taking any interest nor ever attending any college games for a sport that causes degenerative brain problems.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/cte-nfl-players-brains-study/index.html

Roll Tide......but games are still too expensive to not pay players.

Not to hijack the thread, but don't most of these guys from the big schools get full ride scholarships including free books, excellent room and board plus the perks of being college players with nutritionists, trainers, and tutors for their classes, all the gear they get, stipends for living expenses and lifelong perks of having played for so and so team from such and such school? How much is all of that worth?

[Davnasty]

I solve the parking problem at my alma mater by neither taking any interest nor ever attending any college games for a sport that causes degenerative brain problems.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/cte-nfl-players-brains-study/index.html

Roll Tide......but games are still too expensive to not pay players.

Not to hijack the thread, but don't most of these guys from the big schools get full ride scholarships including free books, excellent room and board plus the perks of being college players with nutritionists, trainers, and tutors for their classes, all the gear they get, stipends for living expenses and lifelong perks of having played for so and so team from such and such school? How much is all of that worth?

There's player compensation for sure, but it's very little relative to what the universities bring in and what the coaches get paid. Considering the health consequence you mentioned and the amount of time players dedicate to the sport I don't think it's fair.

Even if it wasn't a question of fairness, the reality is that lots of players are compensated in ways that break the rules anyway. Occasionally someone gets caught and there's a big to do over it but I have to assume lots of other schools are getting away with it in the meantime. If everyone got caught they wouldn't keep doing it.

[accolay]

There's player compensation for sure, but it's very little relative to what the universities bring in and what the coaches get paid. Considering the health consequence you mentioned and the amount of time players dedicate to the sport I don't think it's fair.

I'd be for totally separating these big money sports from colleges and universities, pay the players what they're worth and then the players can decide if they want to pay for their education, room and board. I think it's all ridiculous.

[Davnasty]

There's player compensation for sure, but it's very little relative to what the universities bring in and what the coaches get paid. Considering the health consequence you mentioned and the amount of time players dedicate to the sport I don't think it's fair.

I'd be for totally separating these big money sports from colleges and universities, pay the players what they're worth and then the players can decide if they want to pay for their education, room and board. I think it's all ridiculous.

It is, but that's not going to happen. People are serious about their college sports.

[Villanelle]

There's player compensation for sure, but it's very little relative to what the universities bring in and what the coaches get paid. Considering the health consequence you mentioned and the amount of time players dedicate to the sport I don't think it's fair.

I'd be for totally separating these big money sports from colleges and universities, pay the players what they're worth and then the players can decide if they want to pay for their education, room and board. I think it's all ridiculous.

Sure but I'm pretty confident that many, if not most of them wouldn't qualify for admissions if athletics were removed from the equation and they had to compete with the hoi polloi based on grades, ACT/SAT scores, volunteerism, and the other things on which regular students are evaluated. 

I'd be all for eliminating college sports entirely, or at least scaling them WAY back (which would probably mean a very restrictive dollar limit on what the universities and their donors can spend, so that you can buy a few mats and some singlets for a wrestling team and a balance beam and some travel for the women's gymnastics team, and maybe have one coach and an assistant, but you can't have a billion dollar industry).  Just have minor league football and basketball teams, and be done with it.