Play Ball, If you can find a place to park

The Dodgers opening day was problematic — not only for the losing home team, but for the parking operation as well. Read all about it.

Seems Dodger Stadium management felt the parking facility was a bit too undermanaged so they decided to "micromanage" the process.  The change, at least for the first day, was a disaster. It took over two hours to get the last mile into the park.The spokesperson for the team said that they were concerned about the parking letting out during rush hour (it was a day game) and causing problems. Looks like they forgot about getting "to" the game.

Here’s how I see it.  There are experts in handling venue parking. Disney knows how to do it.  They designed the parking facility for people arriving basically at the same time and they then park folks immediately on their arrival. They know exactly were a person is going to park based on the time they appeared. Lose your car, tell them when you arrived and they can take you to where you car is, probably within five or ten spaces.

However a ball game is different.  Many, if not most, of the attendees are repeat customers, long time repeat customers. They know the parking score. They have been there before and have scoped out just the perfect spot for their car based on where their seats are located. So, let them find their own way. That’s the way its been done for decades in Chavez Ravine, home of the boys in blue.

Of course, I don’t know the back story, and I’m sure that there have been problems and complaints before. But that’s the nature of our beast.  Do the best you can, and then let people park where they may.

I have watched people get on airplanes. I have seen the gamut between highly organized micromanaged operations like American and United, loading the seats by the windows first and then those on the aisles, rear before front, (Zone one, two three, etc. And I have seen Southwest who has open seating and just let people get on the plane.  Frankly I can’t see much difference, except that Southwest turns their planes around much faster than either United or American.  All that planning makes little difference.

The Dodgers were concerned, I guess, that people drive around looking for parking spaces rather than just go in and take the first available.  Well, welcome to our world. That’s what people do. Some have learned that they can take the first available space and walk 100 feet further and be there decades before the one who is looking for the definitive space. Others simply want to be as close as possible.  Its the nature of things and changing those habits is difficult if not impossible.

The Dodgers say that things will be better after opening day (the place was sold out). My guess is that they are right — the team lost 6-3. If they keep that up, finding a parking space will be easy.

JVH