Where the heck do I park for a Husker football game?
Let me give you some background on this situation. I've had season tickets since 1992, and haven't missed a game since that 1998 Eddie Robinson Classic against Louisiana Tech. (Thanks to a friend of my wife's who scheduled her wedding for the last Saturday in August, only to have Nebraska surprise everyone by adding a game the same day once it was too late to change the date.) I've had parking lined up for most of the last 20 years.
For most of that time, I was parking in lot 19 behind right field at Haymarket Park. But three years ago, I found myself bumped out of lot 19 over to lot 20 in front of the baseball stadium. I didn't think it would be a big deal until the first game. First, it took forever to find a spot, thanks to tailgate parties using two spaces even though they only paid for one spot. Then afterwards, it was nearly impossible to get out after the game because everybody tries to exit out onto Sun Valley Boulevard even though it's much faster to head east to 10th Street.
So a couple of years ago, I took the recommendation to rent a spot at a hall on 10th Street, which worked OK that first year. It was about the same price as Haymarket, but it was much easier to exit after the game, so I thought it was a big win. Then last year, I got a renewal notice with a 40% price increase. $200 for seven games, payable in the spring.
I looked around at the time, but didn't find anything. So I grudgingly paid the fee and renewed. Each week, the new management of the hall tried to hassle us by requiring wristbands to use the bathroom, then locking the restrooms after night games. And each week as we treked south across the North Bottoms to the stadium, we'd pass signs for people selling parking for about half the price we paid.
Well, enough of that. We didn't renew this year, figuring we could find parking for less cost and less hassle. Now game week is approaching, and we're just wondering where we should start looking on game day? We sit in the North Stadium, and for morning and afternoon kickoffs, take the kids to the Junior Blackshirts program at the Campus Rec Center on 14th Street. Needless to say, that means we're not really looking towards downtown for parking; north and east of the stadium would be preferable.
I know there's plenty of options for parking out there, but after being in reserved lots for most of the last 15-20 years, I'm not sure what else we might find, especially east of the stadium. Anybody have any suggestions?
