Chiefs president Mark Donovan defends parking price increase

A day after the Chiefs’ parking price increases were met with backlash, team president Mark Donovan defended the changes in a meeting with members of the media on Thursday.

On Wednesday the Chiefs announced game-day cash parking will increase to $40 this season, a change that the Chiefs categorize as an effort to encourage fans to purchase advance passes, offered for $30 instead.

In 2015, an advance general parking pass was $27. Fans at the gate paid $30. A red parking pass cost $32.

In 2016, all single-game parking will fall under the red-pass umbrella, with RV and buses requiring additional payments.

“I know everybody wants to talk about the revenue. What we’re focused on is the fans’ experience,” Donovan said. “Across the National Football League, the No. 1 issue for all sports teams in this league and most other leagues is parking and traffic — getting people in and getting people out. That affects the fan experience. What we’re trying to do is enhance that experience by being more efficient and simplifying them.

“We don’t want to sell $40 parking passes. We want you to (buy) in advance and get a $30 pass.”

The advance passes are available at the Arrowhead Stadium box office with no convenience fees charged, while passes sold on the Chiefs’ website or Ticketmaster will incur additional fees.

“There’s always been a convenience charge as long as there’s been a technology out there providing that convenience. … If you go to our box office right now and buy parking for whatever game you want or for the whole season, you pay no convenience charge,” Donovan said. “If you go to our website and buy directly through Chiefs.com and go to the link, you pay a much smaller convenience charge, but that’s exactly what it is. It’s standard across the industry. It’s not just the Chiefs.”

Donovan said the Chiefs are trying to address three primary complaints from fans regarding their parking structure — the time required to maneuver through the tollbooth line, the lack of direction to specific parking spaces and parking spots near the stadium being left empty.

According to Donovan, the Chiefs enacted a study last year that showed cars with prepaid passes get through the tollbooth twice as quickly as those paying cash. The advance passes will be available for purchase up to 4  1/2 hours prior to kickoff.

Beginning this season, parking attendants will direct vehicles to specific spaces, similar to what the Royals do on game days.

And to prevent empty spaces littering the lots before kickoff — often caused by tailgaters occupying several spaces or blocking driving lanes — the Chiefs are encouraging tailgaters to stay within an eight-foot area behind their parking space. Donovan also stressed then need for emergency vehicles to have access to the lanes in the parking lot.

“Tailgating is what makes Arrowhead special,” Donovan said. “We’re going to do everything we can to encourage and celebrate tailgating. There are not going to be officers out there policing the lines. The lines ... are intended to give both the tailgater and the people driving their cars — and our parking attendants — a guideline of where they can go.”

For more information on the parking and tailgating rules at Chiefs games, visit www.chiefs.com/parking.

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Chiefs president Mark Donovan defends parking price increase."