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KC Current Parking Four Times Season Ticket Prices for Some

A look at what we know about the Kansas City Current’s parking situation and what we still need to learn before the opener.

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2 years ago

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A view from one of the gravel lots that will run $50+ to park by CPKC Stadium. | Credit: Thad Bell

The Kansas City Current are set to make history in a little under a month on March 16th when they open CPKC Stadium. They will host the Portland Thorns in the first ever, purpose-built stadium for women’s sports!

However, they dropped a bomb on season ticket holders who have long been waiting to figure out where they will park at the new stadium. There are a limited number of parking passes available and they are $50 per match plus taxes and fees. That means, for a full season it’ll nearly cost $800 for parking alone with all the fees, according to multiple season members who spoke with their reps.

The team released a statement about being “excited” to give STM the first chance at these tickets.

Multiple season ticket members reached out to their ticket reps to voice their concerns. One Facebook user, Anna Ferguson, shared her verbatim response from her rep.

“Totally understand for your frustration at this time,” began the rep. “In regards (sic) to those frustrations about pricing, there will be other options for off-site parking along with a shuttle service if this doesn’t work for you. Also, there will be other options that we will [come] out with within the next week of how to get to the stadium without having to pay for parking.”

Nearly Four Times Some Ticket Costs

If you buy season tickets in the Supporters section of CPKC stadium, you can get tickets for just $196 plus taxes and fees. While taxes and fees would push four of those tickets over the nearly $800 to park, it’s not by much. Obviously, people will probably carpool, so it’s unlikely to be $50+ per person to park, but it’s still sticker shock.

For comparison, it’s the most expensive parking for a sports team in the city. The Chiefs have $50 parking, but discounts are available if you don’t do the single game option. The Royals let you park for $20. And Sporting Kansas City, the KC Comets/KC Mavericks, KC Monarchs and others all have free options.

The difference is location. No one else is in a dense area like the Current.

Fan Reactions and Further Plans

As should have been expected, many fans are very unhappy. Many adjectives were used: horrible, stunned, ridiculous, shocking, a joke, and betrayed.

Part of the problem is the timing. The plan was rolled out Tuesday, but you have to decide to buy one of these limited spaces in the next few days. Fans are reporting you have to pay in full as well, there are no payment plans like there are on season tickets. All of this less than a month out from the first home game. If you haven’t budgeted for that, it’s a huge impact on your wallet.

There are also a very limited number of ADA parking spots available, though the team says they’ll have spots elsewhere and some sort of transportation or shuttle.

The other part is the plan for everyone who doesn’t get one of these limited tickets are unknown. The team says they’ll unveil them at a later date. There aren’t a ton of days left before the games start. It feels like another self-inflicted wound by the team who is doing so much else right. From handling player departures to the parking, it all feels like it could be handled better.

And frankly, fan experience is paramount. If someone has a bad experience, they may never come back. It feels like the first game, at least off the pitch, could be a bit of a mess. At the very least, there is a lot of work still to be done by the non-soccer side of the KC Current and the game day operations staff.

CPKC Stadium, It’s a Big Deal

‘This is Part of a Downtown Stadium’

There is a subset of the fans out there that seem completely fine with this. It’s part of having a stadium downtown. Perhaps those fans have experience with living in a big city with a stadium downtown? Kansas City has mostly had stadiums out in suburbs since Municipal Stadium closed down shop in the 1970s. And the city was much different then. Sure, the T-Mobile Center is centrally located, but it’s also surrounded by parking.

There is a distinct lack of parking and a lack of public transportation for CPKC Stadium. The KC streetcar extension has been delayed. And the stadium is on the edge of what is likely considered downtown. I feel for the residents in the Berkley Riverfront who are going to have 11,500 fans, plus lots of employees (where are they parking?!) descending on their neighborhood.

Plans will start to emerge, but the lack of clarity is rightfully causing concern. Some groups are already sharing their plans, and more will certainly emerge. But for a city that is very spread out, and for fans traveling in from out of town, parking is an amenity they are used to and will be an adjustment.

The Current have a few weeks to get a lot in order to rescue this situation for many fans.

Update on 2/25/2024: The KC Current released the beginning stages of a parking plan including some updates that parking passes can be done in two installments and a $10 credit will be given to anyone who has four or more people in a vehicle in their parking lot.

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Since 2014, Chad Smith has been deeply involved in covering Kansas City soccer. He's written about Sporting KC, the KC Current and SKC II for numerous platforms, including The Blue Testament, which was the precursor to the KC Soccer Journal. While his initial connection to Sporting KC was established in Phoenix covering preseason, he now resides in the Kansas City area, offering thorough analysis and a strong commitment to local soccer.

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Sheens

It’s great there will be other options, but a better strategy would be to announce those options at the same time, so STM can weigh their options. It feels like a money grab and creates a sense of urgency for these parking spots since no one knows where the cheaper alternative spots are. Assuming these sell out, this only creates additional stress for fans who don’t have this parking “perk.”
It’s unfortunate because everyone is excited about the new stadium. They’ve done a fantastic job inside the stadium, but the parking situation is important and they’ve botched it. Clearly, they are still figuring it out, but they’ve had over a year to address this. Maybe it should have been a higher priority. It’s already going to cost significantly more to attend a single game and having to park far and take a shuttle late at night will deter some people, especially families from coming to the games. I guess we will have to wait and see the long term impact this will have, if any.

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Jake

The plans for how many parking spots there would be were public, right? Less than 3,000 for a 11k seat stadium. Setting the price high will push down the demand for a limited supply.

The way it was announced and the lack of any details on how else to get to the stadium has made this look like a bigger problem than it should be. But I guess people would have been outraged no matter what.

They should just say the high prices are for saving up for a giant parking garage.

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KCOutsider

The idea that it’s “just part of a downtown stadium” is nonsense. The basic concept of a downtown/urban stadium is that people have options on a sliding cost scale. You can always buy expensive parking right next door if you want, but you can also use transit, walk, or choose from multiple parking options. That’s how it works in most settings. For example, every regional urban MLB stadium from Colorado to Detroit has a combination of transit and parking costs from $10 up to fancy sticker-shock levels. But there are options. Even the Royals’ proposed new stadium would be within practical walking distance of lots of different kinds of parking, no monopoly.

It’s interesting that they’re talking about other shuttle options, which is as it should be. Nothing necessarily wrong with expensive near-stadium parking as long as there are realistic alternatives (this is one thing SKC gets right).

What’s crazy to me is that (a) they dropped this bomb so close to the opener and (b) they didn’t have the full parking options plan available so they could mitigate the shock. Or (c) that they didn’t think there would BE shock and didn’t plan for it.

Just feels like a totally unnecessary own goal when it shouldn’t have been difficult to come out with the full parking/access plan at once.

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Chad Smith

I sorta suspect they want to sell these really high-priced options before they go out and lay out the plans that would be cheaper or free. They are running a business.

The way I’ve come to think of the KC Current is like a boutique brand. Their clothes are expensive and never on sale (not real, steep discounts at least). Their tickets are expensive. Of course their parking is expensive.

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