Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Reds offer parkers tickets
$14 value takes sting out for some
BY LUCY MAY and PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Reds have a trade planned for local fans: parking spaces in exchange for free tickets to a Reds home game.
A week after telling thousands of downtown workers who park at Cinergy Field they must find other spots for their cars Thursday, the Reds announced they will give each parker two free tickets to a future game. The ticket vouchers are for those with monthly parking passes at the stadium.
The team is using a clause in its parking agreement with Hamilton County to boot parkers because the Reds expect a big crowd for Thursday's 12:35 game featuring St. Louis home-run slugger Mark McGwire.
“They feel bad because they know they are displacing some parkers, but they do need those spaces,” said Brooke Hill, a spokeswoman for the team's new ballpark project. “I think it's very generous of them to try to keep their fans happy.”
The team has sold more than 30,000 tickets for Thursday's game, Reds' spokesman Mark Walpole said. Cinergy Field can seat more than 52,000.
Today, Central Parking will put fliers on the cars of the roughly 4,000 people who park at the stadium during the day, suggesting they either take the bus or use one of several park-and-ride services listed to get to work Thursday, Ms. Hill said.
Reds fan Larry Erpenbeck has a monthly pass for the stadium garage to get to his job downtown. He plans on starting his commute from Florence a little earlier Thursday morning and looking for a spot along the riverfront.
“I don't know if it will be worth the hassle,” he said. But he'll take the tickets. “They have been playing pretty good this year.”
The red-reserve seats the vouchers are good for normally sell for $7 each, Mr. Walpole said.
“It's a nice gesture on their part,” said Cindy Metz, another monthly parker in the stadi um garage. “Many companies wouldn't do anything.”
During weekday afternoon games in the past, Ms. Metz and many other garage patrons could just pay the $6 parking fee fans paid and go to work. They can't even do that Thursday. The only motorists to be let into stadium parking Thursday will be those with Reds parking passes or tickets to the game, Ms. Hill said.
Central Parking will arrange a way to get the ticket vouchers to its 2,000 monthly parking patrons as soon as possible, she said.
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