Key to off-site parking: A safe walk to the game

When Memphis, Tenn., opened the doors of AutoZone Park in 2000, the only new parking created along with the baseball stadium was a shared garage with about 800 spaces.

That was a fraction of the parking needed to fill the stadium's more than 12,000 seats.

Nearby structures and lots provide most of the necessary parking, an arrangement similar to the one York City anticipates for a planned independent-league baseball stadium.

In Memphis, that set-up has worked.

Since AutoZone Park opened, it has consistently been among the top two minor-league ballparks for attendance, averaging more than 11,000 fans per game. A similar parking arrangement has seen success in Toledo, Ohio.

The parking system required a "cultural shift" from people used to parking near a building's front door, said Andy Kitsinger, director of planning and development for the Center City Commission, an organization promoting the Memphis downtown.

Safety a key: He attributed part of that success to people feeling safe walking the city streets on game nights.

Bustling streets are key to getting people to walk. If people don't think they can walk safely from their car to the stadium and back, they won't come to the games, said Wilbur C. Rich, a professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts who has researched sports facilities.

Kitsinger agrees. Three or four blocks is only a short walk as long as people see activity on the streets, he said.

"If you have a lot of

dark and vacant storefronts or vacant property, people aren't going to want to park farther away from their destination," Kitsinger said.

In York: People walking to a York City stadium might do so under the watch of security personnel hired by the baseball team. The stadium lease specifies that the York Professional Baseball Club, a subsidiary of Keystone Professional baseball, is responsible for event security.

Though the plan for managing events won't be done for some months, Jon Danos, president of Keystone Baseball, said security will be a key part of the plan tailored just for York.

"Naturally, it's something that we care greatly about, in terms of the safety and accessibility of the stadium," Danos said.

Off-duty police officers and trained security guards are among possible plan elements, Danos said.

"There's a lot of tools we have in our toolbox," Danos said.

--Reach Daina Klimanis at 505-5439 or dklimanis@yorkdis patch.com.