Multimedia Reporting (Utsler)

Theresa Gopp drives up and down the side streets of Lawrence near Memorial Stadium looking to park. It’s always the same on Saturday afternoons when the Jayhawks play. The streets are packed and everywhere she looks, people are standing in yards holding signs: “PARKING: $25.”

With the recent success of the University of Kansas football team, people across the state have become excited. Season ticket sales are at an all-time high, meaning one thing, more people attending the games. Those people will have to pay more to park as well.

“If you don’t have a parking pass and don’t want to pay $30, it’s hard to find a free parking space,” Gopp said, a Kansas City, Mo., resident and former KU student.

Until recently, parking for football games was easy to find and cheap. Today, however, the football program has gotten better, making parking scarcer and expensive. People heading to the games have either a prepaid parking pass, plan to pay a local resident to park in their yard or hope to find a lucky parking space for free.

Yard Parking
Driving down Illinois Street, Alabama Street and up Tenth Street, homeowners hold up signs, “PARKING: $25.” Those fans that do not have a parking pass have the option of paying homeowners or tenant a fee to park in their yard. Prices differ from house to house, depending on proximity to Memorial Stadium.

Ryan Dieckgrafe, Derby, Kan., senior, is the former resident of 1027 Illinois St., located directly behind the north end of Memorial Stadium. He would charge fans $25 to park in his yard, allowing them to use his restroom and tailgate in the yard. “It was a great way to pay the bills,” said Dieckgrafe. “We would make about $100 to $150 a game, just to let people park in the yard.”

This year, people are charging up to $50 to allow people to park in their yard, a $25 raise from only a year ago. Dani Whittman, resident at 1005 Illinois St., raises the price for parking depending on the game. She and her roommates charge more for conference games, $25, and even more for rivalry games. “We are going to charge $50 for the K-State game this year because there will be a ton of people here.”

Parking Passes
The Athletics Department at the university is in charge of selling parking passes for football parking. Each pass costs $90, up from $75 only a year ago and $30 in 2002. Passes are only available for Williams Educational Fund, the fund-raising program of the Athletics Department. There are 13 parking lots, including a parking garage, available around Memorial Stadium, all of which are sold out this year. Which parking lot a donor gets to park in is dependent on the amount of money they give to the Athletics Department. The more money given, the better parking received.

Kassie Liebsch, Systems Administrator for the ticket office, says the sales of parking passes has gone up over the past year due in part to the exciting finish of the football team last season. “Last year, we sold about half of the spaces available. This year, every space has been sold. People are excited for this year’s team.”

Free Parking
The University does offer shuttle buses that take fans to memorial stadium from other parking lots around the campus. There are two pick-up stations located in the Burge Union parking lot and the Recreation Center parking lot. Parking is free and the shuttle costs $3 for a trip to and from the Memorial Stadium. Walking is always a possibility too. There are many other parking lots spread across the university campus. If walking isn’t a problem, these spaces are easy to find around the campus.

A final option for parking is pure luck. Some people are still able to find a free parking spot on the streets around Memorial Stadium. Theresa Gopp says if you get there early enough, spots along the street are available. “I like to tailgate, so I show up three of four hours before the game and am able to find a parking spot for free.”

Before the current success of this year’s football team, these free parking spots located around Memorial Stadium were easy to come by. People could show up just before kick-off, find a good parking spot and pay nothing. With the current hype and buzz, however, Saturdays at the University of Kansas have become the place to be.

So the next time you come watch the Jayhawks take the field, have either your parking pass, wallet or luck ready, because you are going to need one.