Parking

[untcampbell]

Agree. I tailgate at the South end of the Blue Lot. Whether a big crowd or small, the parking lot looks empty to relatively empty at my end of the lot. Guessing I saw between 50 and 100 empty spots on Saturday. But they "sellout" for low attended games also. That is, they quit selling online passes on Friday, inferring sellout whether they say it or not. Then people sit in long lines to pay more on game day for the "few" spots available that never fill up.

I get they don't want to oversell. The only solution I can figure out is that they sell passes assigned with large numbers to a particular parking spot, require passes to be visible for inspection and tow any car parked in a space that someone else paid to park in. MGSF season ticket holders get to select a particular spot, reserved to them for the entire season.

 

GMG

[MeanGreen22]

On 11/10/2024 at 9:22 AM, untcampbell said:

I got a call from them at 1:00 pm. They had been trying to park for about an hour. While not handicapped, they do have some struggles walking. They got to the Blue lot and were turned away because the lot was sold out. As for every game the Blue lot is "sold out," there were at least 100 spots unused for this game. Interesting that the Blue lot attendants were not even able to take cash or card for this game because they were not going to sell a single space after the sell out was declared.

Well just like anything else, once space is sold, its sold. Cant just open it up and say well no one is using it. What happens when they sell those 100 spots then someone shows up that has already purchased the spot and now they dont have a space?

 

I felt like they handed the parking situation about as well as they could have given the situation (lot closure due to condition, crowd size, etc).

[greenjoe]

I live in Denton.  I always leave in time to pick our friends 90 minutes before kickoff.  When we get to DATCU, it looks like nobody is coming.  We park and walk to the stadium.  We have learned what works and we follow the same procedure each game.  No problems.  

[greenminer]

Y'all, parking and walking situations suck across the board when crowds are good.  It's just the way.

All for constructive talk, though, that leads to improvements in flow.

[Pavlovs Eagle]

We were later than usual. We usually like to arrive 2 hours before kickoff, but we didn't arrive at the NT Blvd exit until 30 minutes before kickoff. If not for the Hub Club entrance, we would have missed the first quarter, too.  

The Northbound I35E North Texas Blvd exit is a poorly managed part that must be resolved. 

UNT should have made 100 plastic yard signs that say "Blue Lot for Pass Holders ONLY. No Passes for Sale" and stick 50 of them 5-10 feet apart down the left and right sides of the access road between the NT Blvd offramp and NT Blvd. For every five cars that turned left across the bridge and pulled up to turn into the south blue lot entrance, one went through.  After half-time, someone can pull the hypothetical signs out of the ground and save them for the next game.

One digital road sign was posted, but it didn't mention the Blue Lot needing already purchased passes. The message it did have about the Orange Lot was contrived and difficult to decipher.  

I didn't know the Brown Lot existed till this past weekend. It's an easily accessible lot rarely used on most game days.

To be candid, I spend too much money as it is to get my complementary Blue Lot pass (I think if MGSF correctly accounted for my Basketball contributions, I should probably have a Black Lot pass).  If they oversold the Blue Lot and I could not find a spot, I'd be very frustrated.  The many open spots probably also have something to do with a lot of people parking in the gravel/mulch RV spots.  I guess there are just not that many people who want to pony up more money than 2 Hub Club tix cost to park an RV.

Regarding exiting, the Denton/UNT Police at one point had enough cones to keep you from leaving the southern Blue lot entrance and cutting across the southbound access road traffic to try to get on the Southbound I35E entrance at NT Blvd.  They should start doing that again.  Yes, I will have to go through the light at McCormick (I think that's the next street) and get on one entrance ramp further, but it will keep traffic moving better.

I hate to say it, but we won't have any of these issues again this season, even with a win this weekend at UTSA.

[mgfan]

On 11/10/2024 at 11:58 AM, MeanGreen_MBA said:

Anybody the tries to arrive at a football game an hour before kickoff, especially one where the crowd is expected to be bigger, is an unaware fan and will certainly experience delays.  UNT draws more than they used to.   
 

I go to college games all over the country, and UNT is not different.  The aware fan will arrive a couple of hours prior to kickoff for the better parking spots and ease of getting in.  Those who wait until later and try to squeeze in just prior to kickoff get what they will get….delays.   It doesn’t matter what stadium you go to. 

I have also been to college, professional games all over the country. An hour has always been plenty of time. 

Agian, at the average fan is not going to get to an event 2 hours before a game and then spend 4 hours at the event. 

the parking at UNT is horrible. Your are delusional if you think others wise.

[greenminer]

I wouldn’t say an hour is plenty of time, but in my experience it is reasonable.  Can cut it close in some places.

[UNTLifer]

5 hours ago, mgfan said:

I have also been to college, professional games all over the country. An hour has always been plenty of time. 

Agian, at the average fan is not going to get to an event 2 hours before a game and then spend 4 hours at the event. 

the parking at UNT is horrible. Your are delusional if you think others wise.

Ever seen the parking around UT, A&M or OU?  That's right, there isn't any.  If you are going to a Cowboys' game and leave home an hour prior to game time, then good luck.

[MCMLXXX]

5 hours ago, mgfan said:

I have also been to college, professional games all over the country. An hour has always been plenty of time. 

Agian, at the average fan is not going to get to an event 2 hours before a game and then spend 4 hours at the event. 

the parking at UNT is horrible. Your are delusional if you think others wise.

This has never been my experience. When I arrived at 12:30 last Saturday there was no problem finding parking. I don't think I have ever arrived at a well-attended football game later than an hour and thirty minutes before a game.

[Rudy]

To me, the bigger issue was getting out. I don't think they had anyone on traffic control getting people out of the parking lots. 

[NT80]

10 hours ago, mgfan said:

I have also been to college, professional games all over the country. An hour has always been plenty of time. 

Agian, at the average fan is not going to get to an event 2 hours before a game and then spend 4 hours at the event. 

the parking at UNT is horrible. Your are delusional if you think others wise.

Crowds are a good problem to have.  It means people want to see the game.  But I agree UNT should consult a traffic flow advisor for signage, egress, ect.   There are professional consultants that do this.

I remember some games at Fouts, as a season ticket holder, when we were not so good and neither were the opponents.  I could arrive 15 minutes before kickoff, pull into the lot in front of Fouts by the highway access road, plenty of spaces, and be in my seat with a concession drink/food before kickoff. 

I'd rather have more fans and delays!

Edited November 13 by NT80

[Censored by Laurie]

1 hour ago, NT80 said:

But I agree UNT should consult a traffic flow advisor for signage, egress, ect.   There are professional consultants that do this.

I'm going to preemptively complain about the cost of this. #GMG 

[meaniegreenie]

On 11/10/2024 at 1:01 PM, DentonLurker said:

What do you expect them to do if every spot is claimed, either by donors or sales? They can’t make the passes get used, but can you imagine if they oversold that lot and people with valid passes showed up with no spot to park in?

Which has happened.  I was turned away a few years ago WITH A BLUE SEASON PASS because it was "full".

[meaniegreenie]

On 11/13/2024 at 1:55 PM, NT80 said:

Crowds are a good problem to have.  It means people want to see the game.  But I agree UNT should consult a traffic flow advisor for signage, egress, ect.   There are professional consultants that do this.

I remember some games at Fouts, as a season ticket holder, when we were not so good and neither were the opponents.  I could arrive 15 minutes before kickoff, pull into the lot in front of Fouts by the highway access road, plenty of spaces, and be in my seat with a concession drink/food before kickoff. 

I'd rather have more fans and delays!

I always remarked that the one good thing about us being mediocre is the short lines.

On the rare times when we're good and a quality opponent shows up to produce a good crowd, i.e. >25k, we have entrance lines, concession lines, and toilet lines.  The difference may only be 7k from a regular game, but it seems like there's 15k more and we're not prepared for it.

[unt-chief]

On 11/9/2024 at 8:26 PM, sgt206 said:

I didn’t buy a parking pass and saw that it was sold out today. The wife and I took an Uber from Corinth and left at 1:45pm. Made it in time to see the anthem and the flyover (which was awesome). Game and back was $40 with tip. Highly recommended. 

Where did they drop you off and pick you up?

[mgfan]

On 11/13/2024 at 11:46 AM, UNTLifer said:

Ever seen the parking around UT, A&M or OU?  That's right, there isn't any.  If you are going to a Cowboys' game and leave home an hour prior to game time, then good luck.

Didn’t say leave. Arrived an hour before kickoff. 

I’m just sharing my experience and it wasn’t a good one. Take it or leave it. It is what it is. 
 

should have plenty of parking after the utsa game 😆 

 

Edited November 16 by mgfan

[DentonLurker]

The Blue lot about to be free

[BBA1989]

On 11/15/2024 at 8:28 PM, Green with Envy said:

Both the INT and that pass breakup, the defender was standing IN the throwing lane.   Not entering, but IN the lane.  
 

Chandler, we’re the ones in white.   

 

On 11/10/2024 at 9:22 AM, untcampbell said:

One average fan's story: 

On Thursday, I talked my cousin and her husband into coming to the ARMY game. They came to games regularly for a couple of years when their daughter was accepted to NT and she was planning to attend, but with daughter deciding not to go to college (not a bad decision these days), they now come to our annual BBQ game only.

They are fantastic cooks and always bring excellent food for our tailgate when they attend.

I recommended they order their parking pass online ASAP when they made their Thursday commitment to attend.

I got a call from them at 1:00 pm. They had been trying to park for about an hour. While not handicapped, they do have some struggles walking. They got to the Blue lot and were turned away because the lot was sold out. As for every game the Blue lot is "sold out," there were at least 100 spots unused for this game. Interesting that the Blue lot attendants were not even able to take cash or card for this game because they were not going to sell a single space after the sell out was declared.

They got to the Orange lot, paid to get in and then realized they had no way to get the food and ice chest to our tailgate, which was close to a mile away from where we tailgate at the south end of the blue lot. We discussed options, including driving back to the blue lot using the Bonnie Brae entrance so the we could all come over to get their food and then go back to the orange lot but agreed the game would be started by the time they got back to the tailgate. 

They gave up, drove back to McKinney and had a good dinner with the food they had prepared for our tailgate. By they way, they acknowledged it was their fault for not ordering the Blue lot ticket Thursday. But most importantly at least in theory, NT policy lost at least $3000 in parking lot revenue and all the money some fans might have spent had they come to the game.

 

GMG

My guess is the blue lot is sold out because of the package given to certain levels of season ticket holders, then they don't show up.  I have a spot in the Blue lot spaces as part of the package.  My spot goes unused every week except for the Army game.  

Edited November 17 by BBA1989

[sgt206]

On 11/15/2024 at 8:21 PM, unt-chief said:

Where did they drop you off and pick you up?

On Bonnie Brae at the entrance to the west side parking lot that leads to the Joe Greene statue.