Update: The new system for paying for parking at Milwaukee Brewers games has been put on hold until problems with it can be resolved. That’s according to Interstate Parking, which is working with the Brewers to offer a QR code-based system at American Family Field.
There were Opening Day headaches for many fans on Tuesday, when they attempted to use the QR code. The Brewers issued a statement saying connectivity issues prevented some fans from activating parking passes.
Parking “ambassadors” were in each lot, assisting fans with handheld scanners. The Brewers announced that no parking violation notices would be issued.
Interstate Parking says it is reverting to “the traditional parking method that previously existed,” which was accepting payment as drivers pull into the lots. Cashiers also will be scanning prepaid passes upon entry.
Original story, April 2, 2024: The future of paid parking at big events may have arrived in Milwaukee if all goes according to a plan from your local Major League Baseball team.
At Milwaukee Brewers home games this year — including Tuesday’s season home opener — drivers who use one of the 10,000 spaces in ballpark parking lots no longer have to wait in long lines to get in. They can drive in to a parking spot and then pay online through their smart phone.
At least that’s the hope of Brewers vice-president Jason Hartlund, “Drive in, tell a parking ambassador where you want to park, whether it’s Preferred, Gold or General (three different types of parking outside American Family Field, with different prices.) They’ll direct you to a lot. Take out your smartphone. Point it at one of the light poles with the QR code, snap the picture, open up the URL, follow the instructions," Hartlund recently told news reporters.
He continued: "For those who don’t have a smartphone, there are pay stations around the property that take cash. You just enter your license plate the same way, put your information in, and away you go.”
Hartlund says there are four pay stations outside the stadium. Scanning the QR code can also activate a prepaid parking pass.
The Brewers say more than 100 parking ambassadors will be in the lots on Opening Day to answer questions and help with any problems. Dozens of helpers will be at every game. Many of those are people who used to handle payments at the entrance to the lots.
The Brewers are contracting with the company Interstate Parking to run the service. President and CEO Tony Janowiec says the data his company collects doesn’t become public.
“We agnostically retain the data on a secured basis. It becomes anonymized only to retain accounting and audit records for financial reporting requirements. It’s retained for about 36 months before we dump it," Janowiec says.
Janowiec says the new Brewers parking tech system is the most comprehensive in Major League Baseball.
The system goes in place as many fans park for free near taverns along Bluemound Rd. or other streets, buy a drink, and then take a bar shuttle to the ballpark, maybe tipping the driver.
