MILWAUKEE – Brewers fans experienced some headaches during the home opener game on April 2nd when the new parking software showed some flaws. Ultimately, the Brewers reverted to the traditional method of paying for parking upon arrival. But the front office of the Brew Crew say they still hope to change how their fans park.
Ideally, fans would be able to purchase parking before coming to American Family Field and then activate it once they arrive. QR codes would be available for fans to purchase parking as opposed to speaking with an attendant. Finally, license plate recognition technology would identify attendees who try to park without paying. Hours before the home opener fans had issues trying to load their digital passes. Ultimately, the Brewers decided to resume the usual way of paying for parking with attendants.
During an appearance on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News, Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger said the most difficult part of the process was the dialogue with fans: “We obviously had spent a lot of time communicating to the fans about the new system and we certainly hyped it up,” Schlesinger said. “Then we had to, of course, reeducate all of our fans on opening day which is a busy day to begin with.”
Schlesinger said he was glad there wasn’t an issue with fans missing the game. American Family Field saw a greater amount of attendees for opening day this year than the last two years.
The new parking system is done in partnership between the Brewers and Interstate Parking, a company that provides parking services across the country. Schlesinger said they have been working together to fix the techincal ‘bugs’ and other issues.
Schlesinger offered an empathetic apology to Brewers fans who were negatively affected by the issue. He said they are “gun-shy” about trying the new system again, but that it will be coming soon.
“I promise the fans it will be in affect soon and it will work. And people will notice how quick it is to get into the lot.”
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