This Phillies fan missed NLCS Game 2 due to Philadelphia Sports Complex reaching max capacity
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Tuesday was a historic night at the sports complex in South Philadelphia, with more than 126,000 fans packing in for a trifecta of sporting events. For one Phillies fan, however, the traffic and parking nightmare was too much to take.
For the first time ever, all parking lots and all parking spots at the sports complex were filled, and traffic was backed up for miles.
"I was really mad, sad, a lot of emotions when I had to choose to leave," Michael Clark said.
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Clark and his grandfather spent hundreds of dollars for tickets to Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, but they never made it inside Citizens Bank Park Tuesday night.
"We looked at each other and were like, 'There's no way we're getting into that parking lot. We might as well just go watch at home,'" Clark said.
Traffic was brought to a standstill in South Philly, with the Phillies, Flyers and the Mexico vs. Germany match taking place on the same night.
Our own Jessica Kartalija was also stuck and after an hour she said cars started driving over a grassy median to turn around.
According to all three stadiums, attendance at Lincoln Financial Field was more than 62,000.
Nearly 19,000 fans attended the Flyers' home opener and more than 45,000 people packed into Citizens Bank Park. That's more than 126,000 fans at the sports complex at the same time.
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"Jam-packed like I've never seen before and we have season tickets to the Phils, the Eagles, the Sixers and I've never seen it that bad," Clark said.
Some fans told CBS News Philadelphia they were in the gridlock for three hours before heading home.
Officials said the soccer match started late because both teams were stuck in traffic, and according to the Phillies, it was the first time every parking lot was completely filled at the sports complex.
"We just have so much passion in this team it's hard to miss a playoff game like this, especially in the NLCS, you don't get very many opportunities," Clark said.