Chiefs fans adjust to new tailgating and parking regulations

The objective is to be on the road before 5:30 a.m.

From his home in Indianola, Iowa, Chiefs season-ticket holder Ron Bowlin instructs his family to be buckled into their seats before sunrise when it’s gameday at Arrowhead Stadium.

His reasoning is quite simple.

Tailgating.

“There’s no point in really coming if you don’t get here early enough to tailgate,” said Bowlin, whose goal is to arrive before the gates to the parking lot open. “What am I going to do — just get here an hour before the game and go sit in the stadium? No. I want to tailgate.”

Bowlin has been a regular Chiefs tailgater for more than a decade, he says. During the offseason, he bought a 10-foot tent to hover over the grill and tables behind his black pickup truck.

But a new rule has forced him to place the tent elsewhere. In order to prevent congestion in the aisles, the Chiefs are instructing tailgaters to stay within an 8-foot area behind their parking space — marked by yellow lines and enforced by security officers in golf carts roaming the lots. Chiefs president Mark Donovan stressed the need for emergency vehicles to have driving lanes.

   

This graphic on Chiefs.com illustrates the team's new tailgating policy at Arrowhead Stadium.

For longtime tailgaters, the rules have required adjustments. For Bowlin, the newly purchased tent sits over the bed of his truck as much as it does the space behind it.

“I understand the reasoning, but I just hope they let us keep our chairs outside the lines because that’s something you can move quickly if you need to,” Bowlin said. “My truck is big, so everything is a little crammed back there.”

Brent Cable, part of The Fan Van Crew group, has adapted this way: He purchased two parking passes for the Chiefs’ preseason games instead of one to ensure there would be enough space to tailgate behind his vehicle.

“We actually spent a little time mapping it out, making sure we could stay inside (the yellow line),” Cable said. “We understand what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to keep everybody safe. We get it. So we’re going to play along.”

In addition to the new restrictions on tailgating, the Chiefs are implementing changes to their parking pass structure this season — a rollout that was met with initial backlash.

In July, they announced that gameday cash parking will increase to $40, a hike they hope will encourage fans to instead purchase advanced passes for $30. Donovan said the team is trying to streamline the pace in which cars get through the booths.

In 2015, fans at the gate paid $30 to receive a general parking pass. An upgraded red parking pass was $32 and essentially guaranteed vehicles a spot in one of the designated red-pass lots.

The 2016 model has combined the general and red parking tiers — requiring $30 advance passes or $40 cash at the gate. Thus, the new system does not guarantee those with red passes a parking spot in a closer lot.

 

This graphic on Chiefs.com shows the parking lots at Arrowhead Stadium and how traffic flows.

As a result, attendants are directing vehicles toward different spots than they are accustomed to parking, fans told The Star before the Chiefs’ preseason game against Green Bay last week. Acknowledging the regular season will bring larger crowds, starting with Sunday’s opener against the Chargers, those fans provided a consensus solution — arrive early.

“I don’t usually set up big-time camps, so I don’t always get here early, but I used to have a spot basically reserved because I had the red hanging tag,” said Jeff McCaffrey, a season-ticket holder since 1990. “Now, if I don’t get here early, I’m not guaranteed a spot up close. I could be way the hell out there. You need to get here early.”

Todd Mullen, a Chiefs fan from Omaha, Neb., recalled Rosenblatt Stadium — home to the College World Series in Omaha — enacting similar changes a decade ago to improve traffic flow in the parking lot.

“My family parked in the same spot at Rosenblatt for 25 years and they had to adjust. I’m sure there are people out here (at Arrowhead) who are the same way,” Mullen said. “When the gates open, they take off for a spot they’ve always gotten. There’s nothing wrong with that.

“But now all of a sudden you tell people they have to change what they’re doing. I can see them digging in their heels. The change will take time. It will happen, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”

This story was originally published September 9, 2016 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Chiefs fans adjust to new tailgating and parking regulations."