Los Angeles Chargers: $100 Parking

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

I am not a Chargers fan.  Wasn't when they were in San Diego, and I am even less now that they are playing in my Los Angeles neck of the woods.  I am a huge football fan, however, and over the years I have learned that watching football is so much better on television than it is live.  Camera angles and the commentary to help explain what's going on adds a dimension to the game you just can't get at the stadium.  Unlike baseball, which has a stadium-feel to it, I'd rather stay home to watch the gridiron.

In Los Angeles, we have so many things to do, why would we want to go to a football game, anyway?  We have three baseball teams within driving distance (and a dozen more at the minor league level), two NHL teams, soccer teams, NBA times two, and amusement parks coming out the wazoo.  We have hiking, surfing, shopping, mountains, deserts, and a huge number of other things to do.  If I am going to go to a football game, to attract me they need to make it worth my while.

The Chargers, in their move to Los Angeles, are temporarily located at a stadium made for smaller soccer crowds.  The StubHub Center in Carson seats about 27,000 - a perfect sized stadium for the hometown Major League Soccer franchise, the LA Galaxy.

Less people means less ticket sales, even if you fill the stadium.  The Chargers, apparently, were convinced that their home opener would be a sell-out.  So, to make up for lost revenue in ticket sales (starting as cheaply as $90 per ticket for the cheap-seats), the geniuses in the front office decided to charge $100 for parking.

One of the reasons baseball can draw the kinds of crowds they draw is because it is an affordable night out.  How arrogant must football be to believe it can get away with $100 parking?  Is football suddenly only the sport of kings?

Granted, it wasn't all of the parking, it was a special general tailgating lot ($40 for "Red Section" parking, FREE for parking offsite and then riding a shuttle to the stadium).  But, if the Chargers are worried about establishing a new fan base in their new home, how does that work out with parking fees that costs more than the some of the tickets?

Not a great strategy, I am thinking.

Then again, I wouldn't go to their games if you paid me, the Chargers are so bad.

I wonder what the ticket prices and parking fees will be for the Raiders when they go to Las Vegas?  I am willing to bet those business gurus who make a profit in the middle of a desert won't be charging a C-Note.

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