NFL teams get about a third of their revenue from “stadium sales.” These include tickets, concessions and parking. While the same figures are not regularly available for other professional and college sports, it is safe to say these sales are a critical part of revenue, particularly in stadiums that can seat as many as 100,000 people. Similar metrics apply to arenas, which are the equivalent of stadiums but indoors.
Parking presents sports team and music venue owners with another challenge. The land on which these venues are built can be very expensive. Parking space can take up as much square footage as the venue itself. Thus, making money back on the cost to build parking lots is important.
Financial services comparison website Confused.com has reviewed the cost of parking in stadiums and arenas across America based on the 20 largest measured by total seats. The cost for up to five hours of parking was the yardstick. Data came from third-party sources as well as from the stadiums themselves.
Interestingly, parking rates were not related to the size of a market. The most expensive stadiums at which to park a car were MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., (which is adjacent to New York City) and Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. While Auburn may be a small city, its football team has been a college juggernaut for decades.
These are the 11 most expensive stadiums for parking a car:
| Arena | Seating | Parking |
|---|---|---|
| Little Caesars Arena (Detroit) | 21,000 | $42.00 |
| FTX Arena (Miami) | 20,000 | $40.00 |
| FLA Live Arena (Sunrise) | 22,457 | $35.00 |
| Madison Square Garden (New York) | 20,789 | $35.00 |
| Tacoma Dome (Tacoma) | 23,000 | $30.00 |
| Rupp Arena (Lexington) | 21,500 | $30.00 |
| Moda Center (Portland) | 21,000 | $27.50 |
| Ball Arena (Denver) | 21,000 | $25.00 |
| United Center (Chicago) | 23,500 | $22.00 |
| Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) | 21,600 | $22.00 |
| Capital One Arena (Washington) | 21,000 | $22.00 |
Click here to see which are the most and least valuable NFL teams.
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