Boasting an extensive calendar, Union Station serves as a venue for swanky gatherings like wine tastings and arts fairs, but has also hosted technology and culinary expos and high-profile concerts. Private events can be booked too, such as weddings and graduations. Regardless of what you’re doing, Union Station’s Great Hall provides guests with a dramatic backdrop.

Despite its status as a giant transportation hub and a lavish events venue, access to Union Station has been problematic. The terminal has been hammered for its parking, with complaints ranging from price, service and location.

To sidestep the hassle, travelers and visitors alike can use ParkWhiz to reserve a parking spot ahead of time to ensure guaranteed parking and a low price. Those taking trains out of town can reserve daily parking for as low as $10 a day, half the price of Union Station’s official lot. Patrons just heading downtown for events can also use ParkWhiz as we now offer eight locations to reserve a spot near Union Station.

With no great difference in view (both structures offer 360-degree views that claim to show four states) or price (Hancock is $3.50 cheaper), what other elements should one consider when choosing which to go to? The Willis Tower has the prestige of being the tallest building in the United States, so many opt for the Skydeck. Unfortunately, this creates massive lines. The John Hancock Observatory line is normally just 10 to 30 minutes long. You can also skip the line at the Willis Tower by purchasing a “Fast Pass,” but it’ll cost $35.

With basically all else being equal, travelers would be wise to choose the Observatory for a quick route to the scenic view.

But don’t let your trip to either of these landmarks be ruined by a parking crisis. The John Hancock Center building itself offers on-site parking for $10 if you are in and out in 3 hours.  It is a good deal but be aware that normal rates apply if you go beyond 3 hours because the price will be much higher.

If you shoot for the Willis Tower you can find an official lot across the street, but fees can run upwards of $20. Street parking is sometimes available near the building, but via metered parking which caps parking with a two-hour limit.

The best way to plan a trip is to reserve your parking ahead of time so you don’t waste time looking for a space to park.  You can find great John Hancock parking and Willis Tower parking at ParkWhiz.com.

The millions of fans that will attend Major League Baseball games this summer must all beware of the heat; especially in Phoenix, where the dog days become scorchers. No Major League city is hotter than the Valley of the Sun, where triple-digit summer temperatures are routine. Once May rolls around the temperature typically tops out in the mid-90s, then the next three months average highs over 100.

What’s not to like: The beauty within and around Safeco Field is hard to dispute, but getting into this downtown landmark can cause problems. Multiple fans complain about parking, and without a sufficient lot adjacent to the stadium it’s hard to blame them. Safeco Field Garage holds only 2,000 cars, meaning everyone else is on their own. Most Mariners’ followers rely on public garages to make it to the game, which can cost up to $40. Rather than fret about sold-out lots and overprices garages, fans can use ParkWhiz.com to reserve parking for Mariners home games.

But with the Reds still playing poor baseball and the excitement of the new stadium fading, Cincinnati would revert back to its lackluster attendance numbers later in the decade. Great American Ball Park bottomed out in 2009, ranking 27th in the Major Leagues in average attendance. Even with only general downtown parking available, fans should not have had a problem finding spots in 2009 with such low turnouts.

These days that is not the case. A division crown and an overdue return to the playoffs in 2010 helped the Reds creep up to 20th in attendance during 2010. Despite missing the postseason in 2011 attendance continued to rise last season with Cincinnati ranking 16th.

With this positive trend in place the demand for downtown parking should increase in 2012. If fans don’t want to risk full lots or missing first pitch, they should reserve parking at Great American Ball Park ahead of time and guarantee themselves a spot.

Marlins Park has stolen Target Field’s status as the league’s newest ballpark, but if last season’s numbers are any indication, Twins fans will continue to enjoy the lure of a new stadium even if their team isn’t winning. This means the street and garage parking is expected to be packed again in 2012, potentially creating a dilemma for fans.

Another hurdle Minnesotans may face early this season? The weather. Target Field’s debut in 2010 meant no more cushy indoor venue for Twins fans. Anyone following the Twins will tell you they’ll take Target Field over the meant-for-football Metrodome, but a consequence of an outdoor ballpark is the Minnesota climate. Most baseball cities don’t need to worry about cold temperatures with the regular season stretching from April to September. Unlike most cities Minneapolis suffers an average low of 37 degrees in April. This will make the long walk back to the car feel a lot longer on a cold, windy night.

With no public parking lot at the stadium and chilly early-season temperatures, fans may want to consider reserving a parking spot at Target Field, to guarantee a great spot at a great price.

These days the ballpark is setting different kinds of records. After opening day in 2011, Progressive Field broke an all-time low, selling just 9,853 tickets for a game against the White Sox. Cleveland would hit rock bottom the next day with a crowd of only 8,726. Cleveland finished the season 24th in average paid attendance. After over three million fans turned the turnstiles in 1997, Cleveland drew 1.8 million in paid attendance last season.

The downtown location of Progressive Field means the public hits the garages for parking. Now with Indians’ parking demand at an all-time low, fans can take advantage by letting the market dictate what they pay by using online services like ParkWhiz to find parking at Progressive Field. The fan base longs for the glory days of the 90s, but while it anxiously awaits a return to the playoffs, it can enjoy some cheap parking in the meantime.

When the Marlins play their first home game at their new stadium on April 1, only 6,000 onsite parking spots will be available at a stadium with 37,000 seats.  With that discrepancy in mind Marlins fans will have to brave exhausting hunts and long commutes just to find a spot to park.

This will often result in missed innings and more parking tickets, which are only some of the hassles many expect to face.  Earlier in March, some fans found it very difficult to park for an exhibition game.  Even now local residents feel the strain from the parking squeeze with some being ticketed for parking spaces that were previously free.

With less than 3 weeks remaining before the Miami Marlins move into their new stadium, Marlins Park, fans and local residents of Miami may find themselves in a state of panic due to the crunch in parking.

While the Miami Parking Authority manages an additional four garages, six lots and offers a trolley service, parking will still come at a premium.

Fortunately for Marlins fans ParkWhiz offers a very fan-friendly solution.  Our rapidly expanding company lets people reserve Marlins Park parking spots at every home game.  Our service will help alleviate some of the stress many fans are expected to face in the upcoming season and eliminate long distance commutes to ball games.

It should to all ParkWhiz fans because by now you should know that cheap and easy guaranteed parking is what we are all about.  Microsoft knows it too, because the Park N Go app on their platform uses the ParkWhiz.com API.

For all the non-techies let me explain:  API stands for Application Programming Interface.  At the risk of grossly oversimplifying, an API enables programs to talk to each other so that developers can create software using shared data from a particular source.  In this case a Microsoft developer used the ParkWhiz.com API to access and organize all of our parking data and inventory so that he could make an app that allows mobile users to quickly connect and search through all of our parking options.

When you use this app, you are actually selecting from the prices and parking options at ParkWhiz.com even though we didn’t make the app.  As far as I can tell, this works out pretty well for everyone.  Microsoft gets access to the entire inventory of the biggest online parking provider, consumers have more help in finding the best parking, and we get some more help in spreading the gospel of intelligent parking.  Not a bad way to start 2012!

Do Large Market teams mean More Money?

The answer seems to be a resounding YES after sorting through all of the statistics for the 2012 Super Bowl.  The most surprising fact is that parking revenue increased even thought the price of the average parking spot fell.

As this chart illustrates, the average person who bought a parking reservation within 0.5 mile of the Super Bowl stadium saved 25% compared to 2011 prices. Fans that purchased parking within 0.2 mile of the stadium saved an average of 40% compared to last year.  That is a significant decrease in price, but parking revenue increased over 2011 because far more people decided to drive to the game.  So yes, having big market teams compete in the Super Bowl will bring in more money for local businesses.  Even if the average revenue per fan decreases the big market teams bring enough fans to offset that drop.

How do we know that these numbers are a result of two large market teams being selected for the Super Bowl?  By taking a look at the timing of the parking reservations for the Super Bowl.

The Expectations

There were plenty of reasons to expect all of the parking numbers to be worse than the 2011 game in Dallas.  With 61% of all the hotels in Indianapolis outside of the downtown area and two major markets migrating almost 1,500 miles west to come to town for the game, increased traffic and parking prices seemed inevitable.  There weren’t many reasons to think that prices would be lower for drivers looking for a place to park.

However, the numbers for parking lot managers in Indy didn’t look nearly as good as they did in 2011 either.  Lucas Oil Stadium officials only installed 300 additional temporary seats, giving the 2012 Super Bowl a staggering 30,000 Seats less than last year’s Super Bowl.  Two weeks prior to the Super Bowl, as the four remaining NFL playoff teams took the field to decide who would get the chance to go to Indianapolis; many Super Bowl related businesses were expecting less revenue this year.

1 Big Game, 2 Big Markets

Exactly two weeks before the Super Bowl, the two teams that will compete are determined in the AFC and NFC Championship games.  Prior to the game, the overall sales for Super Bowl parking were up 3% overall compared to 2011 and the average price was actually $9 less than the 2011 Super Bowl.  But once New York and New England were crowned as the conference champions and it became clear who would be traveling to the Indianapolis for the Super Bowl, the numbers began to change very quickly.

In the 24 hours following the official announcement of the Super Bowl contenders on January 22^nd of this year, the number of parking reservations shot up 83% compared to last year, which included the much smaller markets of Green Bay and Pittsburgh.  The second and third days also showed significant increases of 72% and 35% respectively.

In 2011, just 48% of all parking reservations were made during the week before the Super Bowl.  During that same week in 2012, the numbers skyrocketed up again.  The chart below shows the increases by day that equal an average increase of 47% in overall sales each day:

Increase in Parking Reservations from 2011 to 2012 During Super Bowl Week

By the time the Super Bowl had concluded, the average price of a parking spot had fallen from 2011 levels, but total spots sold had risen more than enough to result in a revenue increase. Even though only one team can win in the Super Bowl, everyone won when it came down to parking for Super Bowl XLVI.