Detroit Lions parking for $1,000 online drives city to action

On January 19, 2025By Littum

Handing out $900 or $1,000 just to park your car for a single night in Detroit?

Of course, it’s a night unlike any other for many Detroit Lions fans and the venue promises to be just a short walk away from Ford Field on what is expected to be a bitterly cold Saturday night for the playoff game against the Washington Commanders.

But paying as much as a monthly mortgage — or even a monthly car payment on some fancy SUVs — for a few hours of parking? Three parking lots in Detroit — one lot with a sign reading Paradise Valley Parking at 1468 Randolph and two other lots a drive away at 401 Gratiot and 461 Gratiot — ended up seeing bright yellow tape strung across the entrance early Friday morning, when the city of Detroit shut down the grounds in a dispute over whether Detroit’s ordinances were followed to the letter. A judge said later in the morning that the three lots could reopen, with some caveats.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said David Bell, director of the city of Detroit’s Building Safety, Engineering and Environmental Division, which oversees parking compliance and enforcement.

“I don’t know anyone who thinks it’s fair to pay $900 or $1,000 to park and watch a game.”

Bell stood outside the Paradise Valley grounds around 8 a.m. Friday to speak with reporters.

“We’re shutting down for three reasons,” he said.

Bell said the spaces were “illegally charging” drivers such high prices, based on the city’s parking regulations.

The prices charged online prior to the game were far above the rate schedule submitted to the city. Park Rite operates the three lots, according to Bell.

But Park Rite noted that not a single person was charged any amount above Park Rite’s published rates, according to a statement from Michael Vogt, an attorney with Dickinson Wright who represents Park Rite.

The increased price advertised on SpotHero was posted inadvertently and then removed by SpotHero and Park Rite as soon as it was discovered, according to the affidavit provided by Vogt.

No one paid $1,000 for these seats.

“After a brief hearing this morning with Judge David Allen, the court issued a temporary restraining order against the city of Detroit ordering the three parking lots to be reopened immediately and the suspension of Park Rite’s business licenses to be reinstated,” according to the statement.

“Park Rite is grateful that the court immediately took steps to right this wrong and undo the city’s unjustified closings, which unnecessarily damaged Park Rite’s business and reputation and inconvenienced numerous city residents just trying to get to work this morning,” according to the declaration.

The yellow tape came as a total shock to at least one driver who pulled up to her regular parking lot and went to work in the building next to the closed lot on Randolph.

A woman driving a white car – who would only give her name as DJ – said she parks in that space every day for her job. She wasn’t sure what she paid to park as it was staff parking.

“This is a bad inconvenience,” she said, unsure where she would park Friday morning.

She couldn’t understand why she couldn’t park on Fridays to go to work because of a high price being promoted for a Lions game on Saturday.

I asked her: Is she a Lions fan?

She shrugged and said she couldn’t say no given all the hype in town.

“This is Detroit, of course, ‘Go Lions.'”

Bell said workers who are inconvenienced will have to find another place to park as the city requested a temporary restraining order in Wayne County Circuit Court Friday morning before Judge David Allen.

The city sought to keep the three lots in operation and to determine whether the operators were guilty of illegal overcharging for services, a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and/or 90 days in jail.

Bell said he did not know if the seats would open in time for the Lions game on Saturday. “It’s up to the judge,” he said.

However, the judge ruled that the lots could reopen as soon as later Friday. No fines were issued, but the parking lots had to deduct the $1,000 rates from the websites. The judge issued a warning not to repeat such acts.

In a statement issued after the judge’s ruling, Bell said the city’s proactive efforts provided parking operators with a reminder to follow the rules.

“Today we have achieved what we set out to do, which is to ensure that car park owners only charge the rates they are authorized to and are not trying to gouge customers,” Bell said.

“While the judge denied the closures we requested, our proactive efforts have let all parking lot owners know we are watching,” he said.

Bell acknowledged Friday morning that the city cannot tell a private parking lot owner that the price they are charging is too high or even too low in many cases. But his office later clarified that the city can seek to prevent gouging based on whether a parking lot operator charges above market rate.

The city’s ordinance is specific, he said, about the procedures to be followed if someone wants to charge higher fees for parking. Typically, he said, parking lot operators give the city a list of their rates for the season. The city maintains that the parking lot operator must submit their rates; it is not an option.

“We’ve never seen parking lots file a $900 or $1,000 rate,” he said.

Parking lots in Detroit have signs at the gate showing their lowest to peak prices posted on the signs. In many cases, lots near Ford Field and Comerica Park have posted prices as high as $100 to $150.

Can a car park charge higher rates at some point? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

If a parking lot wants to charge an amount that exceeds the maximum rate it has registered with the city of Detroit, Bell said, the rules say the lot must submit a rate schedule to the city at least 30 days before when they plan to. to charge the higher rate.

The city says that was not done in these cases.

Detroit’s parking investigation team, Bell said, found that prices of $900 to $1,000 were being marketed online on a website called SpotHero ahead of the NFC Divisional Round, which takes place at 20 Saturday at Ford Field.

Browsing SpotHero on Friday morning, I found parking spots as low as $20 for Saturday, while others were in the $60 to $150 range.

Amazingly, one lot that was shut down by police on Friday morning – 401 Gratiot – had seats listed at $150.15 on Friday morning around 10am. 9. The sign for that lot listed the standard price at $150, and discount prices ranged from $10 to $90.

In Detroit, daily and hourly parking rates may vary depending on the day of the week or hours of the day within a rate range currently registered with the City of Detroit.

Parking lots licensed by the city must always visibly display the current rate, Bell said. If a rate is changed at any time during the day, e.g. at 18.00, each course and the applicable hours must be displayed.

The 401 Gratiot lot claims to be a nine-minute walk to Ford Field, and the price breakdown online on SpotHero was $140, plus a $10.15 service charge, for four spots offered shortly after 6 p.m. 9 Friday.

I didn’t see any parking promoted for Saturday when I searched for NFC Divisional Round parking at Ford Field for $900 or $1,000 after the city closed the lots.

But city officials say they discovered prices of up to $1,000 for parking in those spaces earlier this week. They say their own research found these unusual prices.

Of course, the parking world has changed a lot over the years, as you can now reserve spaces or buy parking passes online before big events at all sorts of places – StubHub, Vivid Seats, SpotHero and more.

Do parking prices for reservations sold online need to closely track posted prices? The city argues that they do. But some sellers might argue otherwise.

Plenty of online sites were offering parking passes this week for $50 to $80 for Saturday night’s game, with parking closer to the event at much higher prices. A spot offered through StubHub on Thursday was priced as high as $583 and listed as a spot in “Parking Lot 4 – 49 feet from venue.”

Football fans are being urged to take extra care when parking Saturday in downtown Detroit. Some scammers may sell parking spaces that they do not own or control. You will see the ID from a parking attendant.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a warning in January to warn of potential parking scams that could lead to cars being “ticketed, towed or worse, stolen.”

Never hand over your car keys, according to Nessel, unless you see valet signs posted and you’ve confirmed the valet service is one offered on-site.

In the past, some scammers offered parking spaces on privately owned vacant lots and started charging people to park there. They can even wear an orange vest to play the part and display a professional-looking sign. But they make money by selling space in a plot they don’t own.

Be wary of fake QR codes. Scammers may slap a sticker with their own barcode on top of a legitimate QR code in some parking lots, so you’ll want to watch for signs of tampering.

Michigan consumers who had previously encountered some parking issues at sporting events said they were charged a higher price for parking than the posted price or charged more than the price they originally paid to reserve the parking space through an app.

Anyone who suspects a lot is improperly charging higher rates can call 313-224-3179 or email Detroit’s Building Safety, Engineering and Environmental Department at [email protected].

(This story has been updated to add a photograph and add new information).

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor: [email protected]. Follow himr on X @tompor.