What does parking cost for a Packers game? That depends how close you park to Lambeau. Here's what to know
GREEN BAY – Many Green Bay Packers fans will pay more for private parking near Lambeau Field this year. They'll pay more for Lambeau Field parking, too.
The Packers this year charge $50 for parking in one of the Lambeau Field lots. That's an increase of $10 from last season after more than six years at $40. Most of the stadium parking spaces are accounted for by season ticket holders, staff and media.
Private parking lots tend to follow the lead of the Packers on pricing. As the Packers go up, so, eventually, do the private lots.
Several private lots close to Lambeau also charge $50, and one even charges more. As a rule, the greater the distance to the stadium, the less expensive the parking. Neighbors tend to charge similar prices, but there are exceptions here and there. For example, Capital Credit Union on Morris Avenue charges $20, which it donates to charities, while some of its neighbors are in the $25-$30 range.
Yard parking is a long and hallowed tradition in Green Bay, and a necessary one given the paucity of parking at Lambeau Field. The stadium has a capacity of 81,435, which means some 20,000 vehicles need parking on game day. Lambeau parking lots have capacity for about 3,000 cars, in addition to staff, media, ADA and premium parking.
Parking cars in driveways and yards is not pure profit for property owners. Private lot owners have expenses such as portable toilets and snow removal, and the price of those have gone up as well. Additionally, on the Green Bay side, a reassessment of property values raised taxes for many yard-parkers, some by $1,000 or more.
Carolyn Waring, who lives on Blue Ridge Drive, had not decided during preseason games whether to set her regular-season price at $30 or higher. "We have to see if the port-a-potty cost goes up," she said.
Come early or walk farther for free street parking
Free street parking is available to those who get there early or are willing to walk. Most of the street parking is available on the Green Bay side of the stadium, that is, north of Lombardi Avenue, although some is available south and southwest of the stadium in Ashwaubenon, which has restrictions on streets nearer Lambeau.
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Parking in Lambeau lots limited to season ticket holders
Parking in the Lambeau Field lots will be $50 this season, a $10 increase from last year. That mostly affects season ticket holders, because few spaces remain for non-season ticket holders.
Yard and business lot parking costs vary based on Lambeau distance
Parking providers need patience, especially early in the year, when the weather is nice.
"You have to stick with it. When it's nice, people walk," said Brian Verheyden, whose house is on the corner of Thorndale and Spence streets, two short blocks from Lambeau. When temperatures get cold, his yard fills up faster.
Here's a general description of parking options around the stadium and their costs as of the first preseason game. Actual costs might vary:
Close to the stadium: Prices ranged from $40 to $60, mostly on South Ridge Road and on Blue Ridge Drive for a couple houses west of True Lane.
On Valley View Road and Blue Ridge Drive west to Orrie Lane, prices were in the $25 to $30 range, and $20 west of Orrie.
Prices were $40 along St. Agnes Drive near South Ridge Road, including the Lyndahl Funeral Home lot, and $20 to $30 farther west along St. Agnes.
On Thorndale, prices were $35 close to South Ridge Road, changing to $25 closer to Oneida Street, with the exception of the St. Mark Lutheran Church lot at Thorndale and Oneida, which charged $40. One neighbor said they tend to follow the lead of St. Mark.
East of Oneida street, prices were in the $20 range on Thorndale, but $40 on Shadow Lane on both sides of Oneida. Shadow Lane is only one block from Lambeau Field. One lot on South Oneida Street charged $50.
On the Ashwaubenon side, along South Oneida Street east of Lambeau Field, prices were $40 to Mike McCarthy Way. East of there, they were $40 on the Lambeau Field side on Oneida and to $20 to $30 on the the other side.
Prices on Morris Avenue, Kassner Drive and Park Ridge Drive were mostly $30, and $25 to $30 farther west along Morris Street and Barberry Lane.
From Morris Street to Lambeau on South Ridge Road, prices were $40, escalating to $50.
Green Bay Metro service
You can also catch a city bus to the game.
Green Bay Metro offers four free shuttle routes, with buses leaving to and from Lambeau on the half-hour from 3:30 to 7:10 p.m. and again from 10:15 to 11:45 p.m. Routes to Lambeau Field run from Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport, downtown Green Bay, the far east side and points in between.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Parking prices around Lambeau Field mostly higher this season
