The Oilers sent a 31-question survey to season-ticket holders last week, which included inquiries regarding parking options at the new Rogers Place, and it seems fans "could face a slapshot to their wallets next year if they want to leave their vehicles in comfort," according to Gordon Kent of the EDMONTON JOURNAL. The survey asks season-ticket holders if they would pay $35 (all figures Canadian) a game "for heated, underground parking a five-minute walk ... from the arena." Five other options "range from $30 for above-ground parking within a five-minute walk, to $15 for a surface stall five to 10 minutes ... away." The current price to park at Rexall Place and nearby Mountlawn "during Oilers games is $16." Oilers VP/Communications Tim Shipton said that there "haven’t been any decisions about how much will be charged for parking at Rogers Place." Shipton: "Nothing is set in stone, so the numbers that were put in the survey were simply a chance to test the market." Kent notes the survey "asks how respondents primarily travel to Rexall and whether this is likely to change at Rogers." The Oilers are "using two consultants on transportation and parking -- SP Plus Gameday, which has worked at NFL stadiums, Olympic Games and other big venues, and transportation planners and engineers Bunt and Associates." Shipton said that there are "'misperceptions' that parking and travel downtown will be a big issue, but there are 12,000 parking spaces within a 10-minute walk of Rogers Place." He added that this figure is "double the roughly 6,000 stalls the same distance from Rexall Place" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 7/13).
