Those of you who know me well know that I am the poster child for "Spoiled Rotten." Thank God, there is no cure. The next evening Paul showed me seats on the stadium seating chart that were just a step or two away from the path to the piano. There was just one condition. He wasn't going.
My friend Cynthia Burr was willing to take one for the team.
Those of you who aren't in Texas may not know that I have vision issues and don't drive far from home - or after dark. Paul offered to have a car service drive us to the concert but Cynthia's husband Howard volunteered.
The stadium has a marvelous web site which included the following under parking.
Passenger Drop-Off Zones
There are two passenger drop-off zones at the stadium. One is located on the north side off of Randol Mill Road in Lot 1 and one located on the south side off of Cowboys Way in Lot 6.
Limousine Parking
Limousines will be able to drop off passengers in Lot 1 and in Lot 6. Limousine parking is available on Randol Mill Road and on Cowboys Way. A limousine parking pass is required.
Joined by Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray, Abe Laboriel, Jr., and Wix Wickens, McCartney was on stage for almost three incredible hours. All 5 of the men were a joy to watch because they take such pleasure in performing. They were having a good time. McCartney in particular. Cynthia and I swear the man never took a sip of water during the almost three hours he was on stage. It was awesome.
Howard had said he'd be there at 11:30 to pick us up. We took our time leaving the seating area and headed out to Lot 6 - no Howard.
Have you spotted the trap yet? Neither Paul nor I nor Cynthia nor Howard did. Did you see the words PICK UP in the quote above. They are not there because it isn't an option. Really. I'm not kidding you.
It was after 11:30 pm when we reached Lot 6 and over the next hour plus we learned from repeated phone calls that Howard was turned away by the Arlington PD at four stadium entrances. He explained his mission and was told each time that there was no admission to the stadium property.
Cynthia asked the courtesy cart drivers if there was some place they could take us where her husband could pick us up. No.
Finally a "gaggle" of police officers on bicycles drove by and we asked one of the officers for our options. He told us that we'd need to walk approximately 3 blocks - now past 12:30 am - on the fairly deserted stadium driveway to Collins St. - packed with departing traffic as far as the eye could see - where we could, hopefully, meet up with Howard.
Our guardian angels were working overtime. The taxi cab that took a good shot at hitting us missed and as we approached Collins St, Cynthia spotted Howard - among thousands of cars - second or third in line at the light.
Although Cynthia and I are still enjoying remembering the wonderful concert, all four of us are upset. As you can imagine, Paul and Howard are very upset. We appreciate hearing "we're sorry" but what we all want to hear is how is this going to be fixed.
It took until Tuesday of this week to learn from the Arlington City Manager's office, "all stadium operational issues are determined and managed by the team." The city forwarded our concerns to the Stadium General Manager. He e-mailed saying all the right things and indicated that the Director of Stadium Development would answer our specific issues.
Fasten your seat belts boys and girls, this is good. You might even want to pick up your feet.
Paul- As Jack mentioned below, thanks for communicating your concern. I agree that our procedures need better communication to patrons as to the process for dropping off. We do have areas on both sides of the stadium to be dropped off; plus, the limo/shuttle area on the west side of the facility can be used for drop off and pick up. [Helen's note: this area is neither on the parking map nor referenced in the parking narrative on the web site.] The problem is getting a vehicle through a departure mode back to the other drop off points for pick up. You would be swimming against the current and it could be unsafe for the exiting pedestrians and vehicles. [Helen's note: dropping someone off before an event and leaving the premises isn't going against the tide?]
The safest method is to use our post event pick up points (see attached) where a patron and an escort can be met by a shuttle and taken to a parked vehicle in a safe manner. [Helen's note: there was no parked car. Howard couldn't enter the stadium property.] We have areas on both sides of the facility, a short distance to all exit points. We offer this service to those who need mobility assistance from all of our lots; this service is also available to our patrons who have been dropped off and then need return assistance. [Helen's note: offering to drive us to the non-existent parked car sounded so good once, I guess it was worth a reprise.]
We will strive to better inform our patrons on this matter. Thanks for sharing your comments. We hope you will provide us another opportunity.
There will apparently not be further discussion with this gentleman. He took serious offense to our referring to the above comments as patently absurd. I don't think I've ever been "kissed off" with such flourishes, though.
Howard and I are shaking our heads in amazement at the presumption that all drivers coming to the stadium are staying for the event. This may be true of football but I think concerts will turn out to be a different type of guest.
The obvious answer is some sort of designated pick up area at the perimeter of the stadium property where arriving drivers can pull out of the flow of traffic and guests can walk or be driven by courtesy carts. Probably needs some sort of awning/shelter for inclement weather, too.
Do you recognize the flaw gentle readers . . .
Parking is a scarce, expensive commodity at the new stadium. How can revenue producing parking spots be sacrificed for
I think this will come to a head sooner rather than later.
I hope that someone recognizes that guest safety needs to be addressed and makes reasonable changes now.
What I am afraid will be the catalyst is an "unfortunate incident." It won't be me. It' s hard to imagine any reason to darken their door again.
But the most important issue has been resolved - at least for the coming football season. The NFL has ruled that the scoreboard is "legal."
Don't you feel better. I do.
