Going to my 1st Hawks game, PARKING QUESTION

KnightChris · Post #1 » by **KnightChris** » Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:40 pm

Hey all! I'm going to be going to my first-ever Atlanta Hawks home game this weekend, a preseason contest vs. the Memphis Grizzlies. I've only spent a little time in Atlanta previously, and I've never been to Phillips Arena. As such, I had a quick question about parking:

I pre-purchased a parking pass for the "CNN Upper" deck/lot. It's a Ticketmaster printout that looks like a ticket, but is just a parking pass. I was wondering if I was allowed to park there a few hours before tip-off? I wanted to park there, then walk over to the World of Coca-Cola. Not sure if I'm allowed to do that, or if the lots/decks only open up an hour or so before gametime.

Thanks in advance for your help!

theatlfan · Post #2 » by **theatlfan** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 1:23 am

Ummm.... There's a Falcons game starting @ 1. Phillips and the GA Dome are next door to each other. There will definitely be attendants at the Parking Lot and I can't imagine they'd be turning away your ticket, so you're fine there. I'd guess you can pretty much show up @ 6 AM and get your spot.

Still, Falcons Game. If you're expecting to show up at noon, then go ahead and expect a lot of traffic getting there. You're basically going into the heart of the Atlanta Sports Complex (GA Dome and Phillips - not Turner Field but I guess that doesn't really matter to you this weekend) with the bulk of the Falcons fans. I'd highly suggest giving yourself at least 30 minutes leeway if you want to be parked by noon... since you're a newbie, maybe you should give it the whole hour.

EDIT: Didn't even think about any extra time on the Interstate. Others will know those traffic patterns better...

KnightChris · Post #3 » by **KnightChris** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 3:06 am

Good info! Thanks! I didn't even think to check if there was a Falcons game that day. I'm not really worried about traffic though. I'm staying in a hotel in Midtown, about 1 mile away from the arena, so I should be good. Just didn't want to have to pay the $10 to park at the World of Coca-Cola if I could do a 2-for-1 by just using my basketball parking pass for both.

theatlfan · Post #4 » by **theatlfan** » Tue Oct 15, 2013 9:17 pm

KnightChris wrote:Good info! Thanks! I didn't even think to check if there was a Falcons game that day. I'm not really worried about traffic though. I'm staying in a hotel in Midtown, about 1 mile away from the arena, so I should be good. Just didn't want to have to pay the $10 to park at the World of Coca-Cola if I could do a 2-for-1 by just using my basketball parking pass for both.

Cool. If you are just a mile away, then I would have suggested just walking. It's probably a longer walk to the World of Coke from that parking deck... maybe just similar. You'll be in a maze of 1-way streets and the front entrance to the Dome is the same street for the CNN Center parking, so yeah, there will be traffic.

The lower decks of the CNN Center parking lot allows for tailgating before the Falcons games (I assume the top deck does as well), so you should have a good time. You might be able to grab a beer or some grub from someone with the "Out-of-Towner who was just trying to get to a Hawks' preseason game early and got caught up in the Falcons crowd" vibe.

It's always best to call ahead, but I do think you're fine.

KnightChris · Post #5 » by **KnightChris** » Wed Oct 16, 2013 2:04 am

Thanks again! I definitely would have preferred to just walk, but I have to checkout of my hotel that morning, and they said I can't leave my car there once I checkout. Really looking forward to this trip! As I said, I've never been to Phillips Arena, but I hear it's an awesome venue. I'm kind of a dork when it comes to arenas. I love to check out as many as possible, and find the subtle differences very interesting. The fact that it's still preseason also allows me to sit real close at dirt cheap prices, so that will be a treat as well.

theatlfan · Post #6 » by **theatlfan** » Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:54 pm

KnightChris wrote:Thanks again! I definitely would have preferred to just walk, but I have to checkout of my hotel that morning, and they said I can't leave my car there once I checkout. Really looking forward to this trip! As I said, I've never been to Phillips Arena, but I hear it's an awesome venue. I'm kind of a dork when it comes to arenas. I love to check out as many as possible, and find the subtle differences very interesting. The fact that it's still preseason also allows me to sit real close at dirt cheap prices, so that will be a treat as well.

What were your thoughts on the Arena and game?