Golden 1 Center Opening Raises Concerns Where Parking Will Come From

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — As the Golden 1 Center opening gets closer and the buzz builds over a potential new soccer stadium, there's concern about parking in Downtown Sacramento.

They won't all be parking at the arena, as the Sacramento Kings and arena officials are counting on street parking and structures.

They say a lot of it is unused, but the people who live, work and play in downtown have a different view.

It's estimated that tens of thousands of commuters flow in and out of Downtown Sacramento on any given day. Add to that eager fans driving to the Golden 1 Center and a potential soccer stadium, and you've got a lot of cars in need of parking.

"It's going to impact an already difficult parking situation," said Mark Stephan.

He bikes to work occasionally to avoid the traffic crush, but usually pays a Midtown homeowner $40 a month to park his car in her front yard and avoid the overcrowded garages.

Come October, people like Terry Donahue who park in state lots are anticipating an added burden of not working past 6 p.m.

"I don't know; their employers will have to let them work from home," Donahue said.

City officials plan to take over some state parking garages after hours to make room for arena guests. City officials say there are 27,000 spaces within a mile of the arena—a mix of parking structures, lots and street parking spanning from the railyards south to Business 80 and east to 18th Street.

They also hope the city can direct traffic away from the arena with a new app that includes a reservation and map system.

"We have plenty of parking here in Sacramento and we only have a need for about 7,000 cars at maximum at a full arena," he said.