Wilburn AutoBody Traffic Report

Last night was the opening game for the Wolfpack at Carter-Finley. For me, the game was overshadowed by the fact that we paid $100 for a parking permit in the Trinity Lot. $100 for the entire season, but it works out to be about $12 per game. Last night, we were unable to park in the lot we have a permit for b/c it was FULL. And, the moronic company that "runs" the lots for the Wolfpack Club & who you are supposed to contact if you have a problem with parking - NONE of their employees or the highway patrolman who was also there, could tell us where we should park since our lot was full.

Therefore, we spent about 20 minutes looking for a place to park & then we had to walk to the stadium. We arrived at our seats with 2:45 REMAINING in the first quarter. Poor Andy had to listen to my ranting & raving about the sheer incompetancy of the Wolfpack Club, the parking people & Bobby Purcell all the way to our seats. To say I was HOT is an understatement! I was BOILING MAD by the time we reached Section 224.

And then............................................................................................................................................

there were 2 idiots in our seats. Needless to say, they ended up on the receiving end of my anger. The one kid was very wise & got his booty out of there in a hurry. The other kid - not so wise & tried to tell ME I had the wrong seat!!!!!!! That was his response to : "Boys, get out of my seats. I have tickets for seats 7 & 8." Well, he needs to learn to read.

Anyway, at midnight I wrote the email below to Bobby Purcell (Wolfpack Club director). The email also went to the assistant & associate WPC directors, the Chancellor, the AD for Football Operations, and certain members of the media.

Think I'll get a response back from Mr. Purcell?? Think he'll refund me the $12 for the unusable permit last night? Or, will he upgrade my parking permit for the remainder of the season?? So far, no response from ANYONE the email went to...clocks ticking.




Dear Mr. Purcell:

Parking SUCKED tonight.

My husband & I are Lifetime Right ticket holders in the Red Zone and have a parking permit for the Trinity Lot. This evening we both had to work until 5pm. We left our home in plenty of time to arrive at the parking lot (keeping in mind the traffic around the stadium), park & walk to the stadium in time to be in OUR seats for kick-off (or at least be in the stadium for kick-off).

We turned onto Trinity Rd from Blue Ridge Rd at 6:35pm. We crept up to the turn in for the Trinity Lot only to find it blocked by traffic cones. I got out of the car & approached a McLaurin Parking lot attendant. I told the attendant we had a permit for the lot; he was going to let us back up into the lot to park. However, a police officer told us to move on. We questioned the officer, as well as several other McLaurin Parking lot attendants as to where we should park - NO ONE WAS ABLE TO ADVISE US!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Carter-Finley Stadium Fan Guide 2009 indicates if you have problems with your parking lot and/or space, you should see a McLaurin Parking attendant for help. Interestingly enough, they were UNABLE to direct us where we should go.

Interesting observation as we drove past the Trinity Lot: there were MULTIPLE SPACES occupied by tent canopies taking up parking spaces. The canopies were NOT at the back end of front end of cars, they were adjacent to parked cars taking up parking spaces.

We drove around for at least 20 minutes looking for a place to park west of the stadium. A McLaurin Parking attendant did tell us we were ok to park on the side of the road but not in any of the office building parking lots. We finally found a place to park WEST of the stadium; walked down Trinity Rd, crossed over Edwards Mill Rd & up the hill to enter through the Stadium West parking lot. In this parking lot, I counted at least 12 UNOCCUPIED SPACES, though I am sure there were more.

When we got to our seats, after the driving around searching for a parking spot & then walking FARTHER than we would have walked from the Trinity Lot, without a sidewalk, there was 2:45 REMAINING in the 1st quarter. This is unacceptable to me because I enjoy being in my seat for kick-off.

My husband & I are proud to be Wolfpack Club members. Our Lifetime Rights in the Red Zone & our season football tickets are our special treat to ourselves. We work HARD for the money we donate to the Wolfpack Club. We work HARD for the money we use to purchase our season tickets with, as well as our PARKING PERMIT IN THE TRINITY LOT. Yes, in the grand scheme of things we fall lower on the totem pole in terms of donors. But I feel like we are more representative of the average Wolfpack Club donor than the Dails or Murpheys, etc.

I will refresh your memory, Mr. Purcell: a parking permit is $100. I would like a REFUND for my permit for TONIGHT'S GAME. I did not use my permit because the lot was FULL. I did not use my permit because I did not come to the game or road with friends or any fault of my own...THE LOT WAS FULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is why I did not use my permit. Not only would I like my money refunded for the parking permit I was unable to use tonight, but I suggest that you switch permits with my family for the remainder of the season so you can see how the small donors live in the Trinity Lot.

There was no information on the radio or signs indicating that the Trinity Lot was full & offering alternative parking choices for fans who have parking permits for the Trinity Lot. I suggest you make accommodations for parking when a lot is full & get that information out on the radio to the fans who are arriving in their cars & approaching their assigned lots.

My anger over the parking fiasco kept me from thoroughly enjoying the game this evening. To me, the game ended up being a non-event.

I look forward to a reasonable resolution of this matter and your prompt response.

Thank you.
Megan Wood