Is Smashville now Cashville? Company offers $10 parking due to uproar

Jessica Bliss | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Catfish and crowding: Nashville hosts its first Stanley Cup Final Nashville Predators fans packed Broadway to witness history as Nashville hosted Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Is Smashville now Cashville?

As fans flocked downtown for Saturday's first-ever Stanley Cup Final game in Nashville, parking prices skyrocketed.

Multiple lots downtown were charging as much as $80 before Game 3 game on Saturday night, including spots at Seventh and Demonbreun near the Music City Center, the corner of Fifth and Commerce, and a lot directly across from Ascend Amphitheater, where there was also a concert.

"We expect special event pricing, but it is disappointing to see excessive increases in some areas," said Butch Spyridon, CEO and president of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. "That is not the Nashville way."

Spyridon said Monday that he had reached out to private parking companies in Nashville, but beyond that there's nothing he can do. "Sadly, you can't stop greed," he said. "Eighty dollars is ridiculous, and I can only apologize for it."

In response to the uproar from many fans, Premier Parking — which owns and operates multiple parking lots downtown — is offering $10 parking at a select number of locations on Monday for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between Nashville and Pittsburgh. The fee covers the entire night.

SEE PHOTO FOR LOT LOCATIONS

"Premier Parking is a Nashville-based parking company that wants the citizens and visitors of Nashville to know that economical parking options do exist for the Stanley Cup," Ryan Chapman, Premier's CEO, said in an email Monday.

It was definitely more than the Predators game pushing up prices.

There were numerous other events that might have contributed to high costs, with the Joan Baez, The Indigo Girls, and Mary Chapin Carpenter concert at Ryman Auditorium and Muse playing at Ascend.

But the Predators game against the Pittsburgh Penguins — where Nashville claimed a resounding 5-1 win — seemed to be the driver.

► MORE: Predators, Pekka Rinne strike back in style

Metro Police estimate more than 50,000 people descended to Broadway on Saturday, where there were multiple entertainment and viewing areas set up outside for fans who came to take part in the excitement of the game. Not to mention the 17,000-plus who had tickets to the game.

Game 4 will be played Monday in Nashville, with similar entertainment scheduled, including a free Rodney Atkins performance on Lower Broadway. It will be part of a pregame tailgate party from 1-6 p.m. The game will be shown on large screens outside the arena starting at 7 p.m.

► MORE: With safety and security concerns, officials to make crowd control changes before Monday's Game 4.

Pricing out our city's guests

Parking downtown has increased with every round of Stanley Cup playoffs, according to some season ticket holders.

A lot near the Omni Hotel that typically charges $10 during the regular season was charging $20 in the first round and had gone up to $30 by third round.

"I didn't even try that lot yesterday because I assumed it would be at least $50," said Predators season ticket holder Teresa Sneed.

She said she's seen the lot increase its fee to $20 during "premium" regular season games, as well, like Red Wings or Blackhawks games. But that was the highest she'd seen until Round 3 of this playoff season.

Larry Sinclair, manager at The Farm House restaurant downtown, moved to Nashville a little more than two decades ago. He has watched the downtown area go from a "less than desirable place" for families and tourists to a "thriving celebration" of art, fashion, film — and now an NHL centerpiece.

He's always been willing to "pay the price" to go downtown. He was a little dumbstruck when he first saw $30, but on Saturday, when friend Michael Melies posted a photo to social media of $40 parking between Second and Third avenues on Korean Veterans Boulevard, Sinclair got upset.

"I feel we are slowly pricing the guests to our city out of the attractions we have to offer," he said, noting that for a family already paying for tickets and concessions, the parking may just be too much.

'We have to get used to being a big league city —and all that comes with it'

With Nashville's continued growth and national presence, not everyone is surprised by such surges. Some pointed out the principal of free market economics. Basically, if people are willing to pay it, others will charge it.

"We have to get used to being a big league city and all that comes with it," said Mark Stuart, a singer/songwriter who lives in Ashland City. "All the carping about the population explosion and the tourism and the cars and the success of our major sports teams needs to be accepted as part of the journey/status.

"Good and bad comes with it all. 1974 Nashville has gone away and is not returning."

And there were some reasonable options, if people were willing to look, or park farther away and walk.

There were accounts of people who found $10 parking on Fourth Ave. about a mile from Broadway and others who paid $10 at Cummings Station, about half a mile away.

Others parked for free in the lot at the Tennessee Titans stadium and walked across the Pedestrian Bridge.

And there was always the option of an Uber, a cab or a Lyft. Though it is unclear if there was surge pricing in place last night with the crowds, there was some optimism.

If people have to pay a fortune to park, maybe they will consider options other than driving — and downtown traffic will get some relief.

Reach Jessica Bliss at 615-259-8253 and jbliss@tennessean.com. You can also find her on Twitter @jlbliss.