Guidelines

I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following :








Friday, November 1, 2019

Civic Center Parking: What is the Right Price for Parking?

What is the right price for parking to charge patrons who are attending events at the Pensacola Civic Center?

I received the below email comment from a frustrated constituent:


"I’d like to who [SIC] approved another $2.00 increase in parking Fees at the BC after raising the parking fees $5.00 just about a year ago? $12.00 to park at a substandard facility is a slap in the face to the patrons."

So I asked staff to look into this issue--and the max charged in lots controlled by the Civic Center is supposed to be $10.00--not $12.00.  Here is what I found out from my staff query about the parking:

The Bay Center has 3 parking lots in front and 1 in back that hold approx. 1,069 parking spaces  
       

  • Front                        288
  • Trolley 1                  138
  • Trolley 2                  178
  • Back                         465
        Total                      1,069





 (historically, the Civic Center had 16 acres for event parking before the tech park was built across the street on the south side of the facility)


  • The Parking ticket fees are collected in the parking lot by the Winterfest organization. Bay Center has a contract with Winterfest.
  • Parking fees are $10 for all tickets in Bay Center lots, other lots managed by Winterfest can be $20 or more per space.
  • All tickets are reconciled to cash collected per event.
  • Event and parking fees are separate and collected separately.
  • Event parking is $10.
  • Hockey can charge up to $12 for parking in the front lot--all other lots are $10 for Hockey.
(Comparable location event parking fees:)

  • New Orleans - $20-50
  • Mississippi Coliseum - $10
  • Mobile - $5 (Generally do not have events)
  • Tallahassee Arena - $10
  • Baton Rouge - $10
  • Warf - Free

 History of fees:

  • 1985-1993 - $1
  • 1993-2014 - $3 + Ticket price
  • 2014 - $5
  • 2015 - $10/Events/Concerts   $5 Hockey
  • January 2019 – All parking $10

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