The Miami Marlins Major League Baseball team has reduced parking wait times and improved parking payment compliance at its home stadium, loanDepot park, using Genetec AutoVu Free-Flow and the AutoVu Mobile Post Payment plug-in.

The high-tech stadium is located in a residential neighborhood in downtown Miami with a challenging roadway infrastructure and few mass transit alternatives. The resulting traffic and congestion on game and event days caused long wait times to pay and park in the stadium’s more than 5,500 parking spaces, frustrating fans.

 By using Genetec AutoVu Free-Flow and the Mobile Post Payment plug-in, the Marlins reduced queues and facilitated post-payment for parking. Payment is collected before, during or after games and events using the AutoVu Pay-by-Plate Sync plugin, via mobile parking apps or on-site stations. The software pushes license plate information to fixed cameras at entrance and exit points to validate compliance.

During games and events, cars equipped with AutoVu automatic license plate readers drive around the parking facilities and scan license plates, which are cross-referenced with guest lists to identify people who have not already paid. They then issue a promissory note informing those guests that a parking citation will be issued in 24 hours if they do not pay for parking. Because they have the flexibility to pay after the event, fewer fans are actually fined under the new system. Parking payment compliance is approximately 97 percent, and the more efficient system saves an estimated $300,000 per year in operational costs.

“The Genetec solution removes the frustration of waiting in long lines, helping improve guest satisfaction by allowing fans to get into the venue quicker so they can enjoy the experience that much more,” said Mike McKeon, owner of Parking Partners, who helped implement the program at loanDepot park as director of parking and traffic for the Marlins.

The parking management system has also improved the flow of traffic by helping lot managers track occupancy, identify vehicles who have not paid, and direct drivers to open spaces. The system can even cross-reference license plates with those belonging to staff, match customers on VIP lists or season ticket members, and use this information to offer exclusive parking options to these guests.