Lions vs. Commanders parking: $999 rate was mistake, judge rules; lots now reopen
DETROIT (FOX 2) - An outrageous price to park in Downtown Detroit for Saturday's Lions vs. Commanders game was a mistake, a judge ruled on Friday.
The three lots managed by Park-Rite are now back open after an emergency hearing spurred by the city shutting down the lots.
The backstory:
According to the city, spots were advertised for $999 on SpotHero, a third-party website that allows people to reserve parking spots, earlier this week. Per Park-Rite's fee schedule on file with the city, the company can charge up to $150 per spot.
"It appears that they’re admitting that a rate was published, but it was erroneous," said Jason Harrison, an attorney representing the city.
Park-Rite's lawyer, Michael Vogt, said the hefty price was inadvertently published. According to Vogt, Miquel Nouhan, the employee who manages e-commerce for Park-Rite, uses "999" as a placeholder when lots are sold out.
"That was my own internal code to tell me that that event is sold out and off the board," Nouhan said.
According to Vogt and Nouhan, a change to SpotHero's website led to the placeholder number being published publicly as a price for parking spots.
After discovering spots being advertised on SpotHero, Nouhan said he reached out to his representative with the site to get the issue resolved.
No one was charged the price, and it has since been removed from SpotHero.
Judge David Allen said he understands why the city would want to go after a company selling parking spots for $999. However, he agreed that the price was a mistake and ordered the lots to be reopened.
What they're saying:
After Friday's hearing, the director of Detroit's Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department responded in a statement.
"Today, we accomplished what we set out to do, which is to make sure parking lot owners are charging only the rates they are allowed and not trying to gouge customers," David Bell said. "While the judge ruled against the closures we had requested, our proactive efforts have let all parking lot owners know that we are watching. This is an important reminder to all parking operations to follow the rules and to parking lot users to know that the city is out here working to protect them."
By the numbers:
Parking prices always skyrocket downtown when there are big events - but not to the prices being charged for this weekend's football game.
When the Detroit Tigers were in the playoffs last year, the lots closest to Comerica Park ranged from $50-$80 ahead of the games. Lots that required a bit of walking were $10-$20.
Currently, parking lots closest to Ford Field on SpotHero, a website that allows drivers to book spots in advance, range from $100 to $150. Other spots in downtown are under $100, but still pricey – ranging from $50 to $90 in most areas.
Walking will get you a spot closer to $25, with some spots available for as cheap as $15 if you don't mind getting your steps in.
Headed to the game? Avoid parking and take a bus. Find our Lions transit guide here.