What was with the Gestapo in the parking lot?

[AdvantageSchneider]

Let me preface this by saying A+ for everything the Brewers did this weekend. From what I could tell it was first class all the way. That being said I don't know who's in charge of the parking lot, but I think they need some common sense and etiquette lessons. We were out in the Molitor lot after the game letting the traffic clear, enjoying some victory pie, a few sausage products and some drinks. Exactly 1 hour after the game was over a brewer employee on a bike comes up to us and tell us we have to get going. Mind you there is still a line of traffic on the hill waiting to get out. We pointed this out to the employee and he says, yeah but by the time you pack up the traffic will be gone. So we started to pack up. As we are packing up the parking lot is filled bike cops, a squad car, some sort of police SUV brewer employees on bikes and a golf cart all driving around like maniacs telling people they had to leave.

I've been to many tailgates at MP, I've never gotten the bums rush like this before. Not enough to put a damper on the greatest sports weekend in WI history, but it was needlessly unpleasant. I will be calling the Brewer's office tomorrow.

[Oxy]

I am sure that they are only contracted to work until a set time (1 hr postgame I suppose). Since this is America, the Brewers likely cannot legally allow grown adults to do as they please in an unsupervised parking lot. Although after the tragedy at Dodger stadium earlier this year, that is actually pretty understandable.

[AdvantageSchneider]

I'll call and find out on Monday. I don't see the Dodger stadium tragedy being an issue since I didn't see any D-backs fans the entire weekend(I'm not sure the exist).

[RockCoCougars]

Now we can't tailgate after the games after how they gouge people for parking? I'd like to see that rule in writing right on the parking ticket stub. Between things like this and the fact that the roof was closed in perfectly good fall baseball weather, I'm glad I didn't shell out the bucks to go to these games.

[rluzinski]

I've never been kicked out before (even if I've stayed 2+ hours after). On Saturday, we were told to start wrapping things up around an hour after but they never came back. We left on our own about 45 minutes after the warning.

 

Seems like a playoff thing for whatever reason.

[owbc]

It is clearly stated on signs in the parking lot that the lots close one hour after the game.

 

However, this is the first time I have ever heard of it being enforced. We all know there are many people that stay 2-3 hours after the game. I agree that it is a playoff thing, but there does not seem to be any good reason to clear out. It's not even like they have to clean the parking lot immediately, the next home game is at least 5 and probably 7 or 10 days away.

[Jofis11ep]

Let me preface this by saying A+ for everything the Brewers did this weekend. From what I could tell it was first class all the way. That being said I don't know who's in charge of the parking lot, but I think they need some common sense and etiquette lessons. We were out in the Molitor lot after the game letting the traffic clear, enjoying some victory pie, a few sausage products and some drinks. Exactly 1 hour after the game was over a brewer employee on a bike comes up to us and tell us we have to get going. Mind you there is still a line of traffic on the hill waiting to get out. We pointed this out to the employee and he says, yeah but by the time you pack up the traffic will be gone. So we started to pack up. As we are packing up the parking lot is filled bike cops, a squad car, some sort of police SUV brewer employees on bikes and a golf cart all driving around like maniacs telling people they had to leave.

I've been to many tailgates at MP, I've never gotten the bums rush like this before. Not enough to put a damper on the greatest sports weekend in WI history, but it was needlessly unpleasant. I will be calling the Brewer's office tomorrow.

 

 

I was in the Molitor lot after the game Saturday as well. Towards the front of the parking lot a small fight did break out and I saw them handcuff someone and put them in the back of a cop car. I was a row or so of cars away so I only saw the aftermath but there was a decently sized group that the cops were talking to as well as an ambulance, I also heard someone mention that drugs played a role in that scuffle. After that was cleared up, that's when all of the bike cops dispersed and cleared people out of that lot. Not that I think they needed to try to get everyone out of the lot, but it seemed like this was why they decided to. But i was also in the same lot so I can second the cops and employees abruptly trying to get everyone out. It seemed very odd because there was nowhere to go - that's why I gave to believe it had to do with the fight.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I'm glad I didn't shell out the bucks to go to these games.

 

 

Dude, really? (imagine I'm saying this in the same voice as the guy in the Head & Shoulder's commercial with Joe Mauer)

[Invader3K]

Maybe with all the extra attention Milwaukee is getting, they are trying to minimize the chances of someone staying too long and getting "over served", then doing something really stupid? That's the only thing I can think of, and maybe tied to the incident Jofis alluded to above.

[JohnBriggs12]

It's always hard to enforce laws when they hadn't been enforced in the past. Nevertheless, there are very valid reasons for clearing the parking lot in a timely manner after an event. The Brewer employees on bikes are just doing their job. The parking lots aren't public picnic grounds. It's costly to police them. Furthermore with thousands of cars all leaving at the same time, having tailgaters roaming the lots as cars are leaving is dangerous. Give the young people on bikes a break. If they ask you to leave, pack up you stuff and go. One hour seems very reasonable.

[Mike2k33]

Between things like this and the fact that the roof was closed in perfectly good fall baseball weather, I'm glad I didn't shell out the bucks to go to these games.

 

 

Well with that kind of attitude I'm glad you didn't either.

We were in Molitor 1 and were talked to by the same guy on the bike. We brushed him off and partied for another 45 mins or so and left on our own accord. The way we saw it was there were so many people staying after that it was gonna take them awhile to get around to everyone before demanding we leave.

[DuWayne Steurer]

LOL @ calling a bike cop who asks you to leave after one hour (and then doesn't really even enforce it) 'Gestapo'.

[chuckiehacks]

To the Brewers credit they opened the lots earlier than advertised - 12:20 or so on Sunday.

[FVBrewerFan]

This "rule" has been enforced off and on for many, many years. Even goes back to the County Stadium days. On any given night, they may put more emphasis on it than others. For that matter, I'm sure each individual employee takes it more seriously than others.

 

If this ruined your day in even the slightest of ways, I'm not sure what to tell you. If I was lucky enough to be there, they could have escorted me to my car immediately after the game and turned the key and I would still be basking in the glory of the greatest sports weekend in WI history.

[brwrsfan]

It's not just the playoffs. Saturday night (the day after the clincher), we had a huge tailgate party of about 25-30 people. We were there after the game and had the bike workers (not cops) come up to at 60 minute after the game, then again at 80 minutes after the game. At this point we were winding down on our own and the lot was getting relavitely empty. At 90 minutes after the game, we were literally swarmed by about 5 bike cops, the MP security people and 3 golf carts all within about 2 minutes of each other.

 

They told us if we didn't pack up and leave immediately they would start issuing citations for trespassing and failure to obey a police officer or something like that. They then proceeded to stand there until we packed up and left. It seemed a tad over the top. Considering it was only about 10:15 on a Saturday night too, not 3am.

 

Edit: These were also the Molitor lots off of Bluemound.

[jeffy]

Between things like this and the fact that the roof was closed in perfectly good fall baseball weather, I'm glad I didn't shell out the bucks to go to these games.

 

Those grapes are sour, eh?

 

The roof decision was dumb, but that didn't really ruin the experience. I'll take the dumb roof decisions over the conditions that fans have had to sit through in Philadelphia and NY anytime.

 

The decision to build the park in a location that caters to tailgaters (rather than putting it downtown) while a negative to me, also does not ruin the experience.

[Patrick425]

jeffyscott[/b]]The decision to build the park in a location that caters to tailgaters (rather than putting it downtown) while a negative to me, also does not ruin the experience.

I don't tailgate and I work downtown. However, if the stadium was built downtown, I probably would have cancelled my season tickets at some point as I would have grown tired of the parking and traffic nightmares that 40,000+ fans trying to get into and leave downtown would have created. If you ever tried to leave the parking structure after a Bucks game (with about 15,000 fans at the most) I think you would understand what I'm saying.

 

Sorry, not trying to change the topic of the thread.

 

[Outlander]

I wonder if they actually ever do issue tickets because for a lot of games I, along with many others, go to Fridays after the game and don't often times leave the lots until 90 minutes or longer after the game.

[RockCoCougars]

Between things like this and the fact that the roof was closed in perfectly good fall baseball weather, I'm glad I didn't shell out the bucks to go to these games.

 

Those grapes are sour, eh?

 

The roof decision was dumb, but that didn't really ruin the experience. I'll take the dumb roof decisions over the conditions that fans have had to sit through in Philadelphia and NY anytime.

 

The decision to build the park in a location that caters to tailgaters (rather than putting it downtown) while a negative to me, also does not ruin the experience.

Not sour grapes at all. I could have had tickets to all three LDS games and chose not to go. Between the price gouging on parking, and all the extra hoops that you have to go through just to park, etc., it's just not worth it. Now they are booting people from the parking lots with gridlock in the exits and on the freeway? I bet that they didn't do this in their overpriced 'preferred parking' lots. I've never seen this before, ever. Not on opening day, etc.

 

It's also maddening that the roof is consistently closed on days like we had on Saturday and Sunday. Frankly, I think Miller Park sucks when the roof is closed. It's like watching a game inside an airline hangar. Especially when it should be open, as is often the case in April and May and late in the season. We are in Wisconsin, people can't handle high 50's and sun? If the players can't, tough.... and if 'MLB dictates' this, as they mentioned on the broadcast, it's completely bogus.

[FVBrewerFan]

These people have a job to do. They need to clean up all the lots, plus all the secuity personnel have to hang around until everyone leaves. If they didn't try to enforce this, people would be there for hours after a game. They are parking lots for a game, not just some general area to hang out as long as you want.

 

I can't argue about the roof, not sure why it was closed. But on a scale of 1-10 of things I care about, it's less than 1.

[PeaveyFury]

Between the price gouging on parking, and all the extra hoops that you

have to go through just to park, etc., it's just not worth it.

 

Seeing your team win in the playoffs in-person isn't worth a few extra bucks to park and dealing with fairly routine gameday traffic/policies isn't worth it?

 

Really?

[RockCoCougars]

I have a problem with the fact that they jack the parking rates for 'marquee games'. What is the difference between these games and any other? It doesn't make any sense except to gouge... and I have no problem with them jacking the ticket prices for the game. However, if they charge someone that much money to park their car, they should not have the right to boot them from the lot an hour after the game, that's all. Some people don't like dealing with all that traffic gridlock. I've been to hundreds of games over the years, and stayed well over an hour after game time at several of them. I've never once had someone tell me that I had to leave. If I want to sit and eat some cold brats while everyone sits in gridlock, I should be able to. I guarantee that this isn't a 'cleanup' issue- it's another liability concern created by our litigious legal system. I wish they were so concerned about policing the drunken idiots before the game. After the game, most of these folks are either passed out or are looking for the next party. Highly doubtful they will be hanging in the parking lot.

[Bikeage77]

Also, there ARE other ways to get to the stadium without having to park in the lot. 99% of the time I meet up with friends at games after work. We all walk in since it's silly to pay to park if you're alone. We were more than happy to pay extra to tailgate, especially with the great weather we had. We parked in the Yount lot on Saturday, they told us we had to leave about an hour after as well...we stuck it out another 30 minutes or so until everyone finished their drinks and traffic opened up before we left on their own.

 

I don't know if this had anything to do with the roof, but I imagine the Keg is much louder with the roof closed than open. That could have been one reason they decided to keep it closed. Just throwing that out there.

[Patrick425]

I have a problem with the fact that they jack the parking rates for 'marquee games'. What is the difference between these games and any other? It doesn't make any sense except to gouge... and I have no problem with them jacking the ticket prices for the game.

I think the parking tickets prices being "jacked up" for a marquee game is following the same logic as the game ticket prices being "jacked up". Not sure why you would have a problem with one and not the other.

[RockCoCougars]

I think the parking tickets prices being "jacked up" for a marquee game is following the same logic as the game ticket prices being "jacked up". Not sure why you would have a problem with one and not the other.

 

Obviously supply and demand for playoff tickets works that demand is much higher than the finite supply, so I can understand the price increase. As for parking, MP is nearly sold out every game, demand for parking would be roughly the same for the playoffs in my opinion. Maybe there are less big groups, etc., but I can't imagine that demand would fluctuate that much from a Saturday night game in July. Why the big price increase then? Who gets the money for parking? I'm assuming that it's the Brewers, but back in the County Stadium days, the county got the money.

 

BTW, I have no problem with them selling advance parking passes. In my opinion, they should sell the passes and then hold one lot open for those who show up on game day. Once that lot is full, post it somewhere on the myriad of illuminated signs and turn them away.... maybe they already do that.