Pats eye prepaid parking pass for season ticket-holders

By Scott Van Voorhis Monday, March 31, 2008 http://www.bostonherald.com N.E. Patriots

The New England Patriots [team stats] are studying some changes to their lineup this offseason - the parking lineup that is.

The team’s front office is reviewing thousands of questionnaires sent to season-ticket holders aimed at gauging interest in a prepaid parking pass that would cover the entire season, said Stacey James, director of communications for the Pats.
Still, no decision has been made on whether to issue such passes, or even whether such a move would come this season, James said. Any change would involve careful consideration, he said. And team executives would work with a traffic consultant to sort out the issue.
“Every year we are trying to focus on the things or areas to improve, both on and off the field, and become more efficient on and off the field,” James said.
Currently media members, luxury suite holders and employees are the only ones right now with parking passes, with average fans paying cash - $40 - and jockeying for the best spot they can snag.

In theory, anyway, passes could speed up the flow of traffic, cutting out the time-consuming cash transactions.

While the Pats study the idea of a pre-paid parking pass, it may be one of the few areas where one of the sports world’s top franchises is behind the times.
A number of other pro teams issue season parking passes for fans, said Marc Ganis, head of Chicago-based Sports Corp.

While there are likely to be long-term gains in traffic efficiency, any shift to a new system could also bring some short-term pain.

“Disrupting traffic patterns can be a problem, especially when you have one road servicing the stadium,” Ganis said.

The team’s next step, if the decision is made to explore the issue further, is to hold focus groups with fans, James said.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1083974