Parking at sports and leisure facilities: Challenge or Opportunity?

Leisure sector grows to £117 billion as UK consumers prefer pleasure to shopping *

Even more surprisingly, this sector is growing nearly twice as fast as the retail sector*.
Good news for all those gyms, trampoline parks and football clubs but not so much for facilities personnel trying to solve the parking conundrum!

We already support a diverse mix of businesses who operate under the sports and leisure banner, from swimming pools and golf clubs to racecourses and spas, yet no two are the same in terms of how they manage their car park estate. Some sites are really suffering from unauthorised users, leaving limited space for genuine customers who then raise a complaint or worse become the abusers of nearby sites (= grumpy neighbours), others need to monetise their facilities so they can reinvest parking revenue to generate growth.

Football clubs can face a number of challenges, not least the complexity in the types of visitors they welcome through their gates.These sites need to cater for staff, match day drop-offs, supporters, conference delegates and even contract parkers. For instance, employee volume will be low and fairly constant day-to-day – easily managed using a permit system (free or chargeable). However, being able to effectively manage the huge spike in volume on match-days is critical in ensuring the football experience isn’t marred by frustrated motorists. Creating a ‘free-flow’ environment with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) allows users to simply drive in/out seamlessly and bypassing potential delays such as barriers. Designated areas for short-stay drop-offs or even ‘immunity windows’ which exempt supporters from payment altogether are options to be considered. Alternatively, genuine supporters may be offered a maximum free-stay with charges applied to those looking to park at the club but go into town or jump on the train.

Let’s look at casinos – we work with some of the largest in the country. Many take a blend of solutions to capitalise on sites often busiest in the evening. For instance, offering daytime pre-paid long-stay contract parking might be ideal when casino goers are low whereas local shoppers will be looking for short-stay pay-on-exit or cloud-based pre-booking services. Anyone not listed as having a permit (staff), being a genuine customer or identified as having otherwise paid will be issued with a parking charge as a deterrent to ongoing abuse and if in time behaviours change, this element could be removed.

Racecourses on the other hand are rarely plagued by unauthorised parkers so it’s often more about making the best use of their facilities. Any space, a field even can be used to generate more revenue. Again, there are a number of options. Next generation payment kiosks make it quick and easy to charge for parking, with touchscreen functionality and the ability to pay in cash, card or pay-by-phone, along with the ability to accept promotional codes – no need for any physical tickets either as the ANPR technology will know when each visitor entered and left, along with what’s been paid. Super-simple, and certainly a long way from the physical sticky tickets of days gone by and the subsequent struggle to remove its gluey residue before driving off!

Other opportunities for revenue generation include event attendees who may receive parking at a reduced rate as part of the commercial arrangement and managed by simply registering vehicle details during the event. Again, depending on location, the site may even rent out parking to other attractions, nearby businesses or hospitals even, who could be facing their own car parking crisis. These are all solutions which can be blended together with zero hassle, allowing you to get back to business.