parking tips for valley suns vs santa cruz warriors at mullett arena (tempe az 12/02)

hey everyone, figured i'd share some parking tips for the valley suns game on tuesday, 12/02 at 7:00 pm. a weekday game starting right at 7:00 pm means you are going to be hitting the tail end of the tempe/phoenix rush hour, plus the residual asu campus traffic, so the traffic getting into the main lots will honestly be terrible if you roll up 30 minutes before tip-off. the key to survival is walking a little further.

before diving into the official stuff, you need to check out the real local alternative: the prked app. this is a lifesaver for the mullett. it lets people rent out their driveways, garages, and private lots right next to mullett arena. it's usually way cheaper than the campus garages and you can often find a spot a block or two away that lets you completely skip the insane traffic jam getting into the official lots, saving you money and a huge headache. short walk, zero traffic gridlock - that's the move.

for official asu parking, all parking is controlled by asu parking. the main spots are the packard parking structure (off packard drive and 6th street) and the novus parking garage. for sun devil athletics events, like a valley suns game, the price is usually $15 to pay on-site with a credit card at the gate.

major tip: do not buy a parking pass ahead of time from a reseller like ticketmaster, seatgeek, or vivid seats if you can avoid it. they will charge you a big upsell, sometimes $20-$50 plus fees, when you can just pay the standard $15 with a credit card at the gate of the asu-controlled lots.

if you want to walk 5-10 minutes and save money or find an easier escape route, consider these alternatives:

* **marina heights parking garage:** this is one of the best and cheapest moves, often available for around $9 and about a 0.4 mile walk.
* **asu campus garages:** many asu garages, like the tyler street parking garage or fulton center garage, cap their visitor rate at around $16 for the entire day.
* **lot 59e:** this is a surface lot near rural road (511 s rural rd) and it's a super close 0.2 mile walk, sometimes listed around $10 for the event.
* other downtown tempe garages like the city hall garage or the beam on farmer garage are also available, though sometimes listed on resale sites for more like $36-$39 for the game.

if you want to skip driving altogether, the valley metro rail is clutch. you can park at a park-and-ride lot (like dorsey/apache or mcclintock/apache) and ride the light rail for a small fee, which is a great way to avoid all the traffic.

for rideshares like lyft (the official partner), the dedicated drop-off and pick-up area is in lot 10, which is on the northeast corner of rio salado pkwy and packard drive.

final reminders: the arena is a completely cashless venue, so bring a credit card, debit card, or use apple pay/google pay for parking and concessions. you can usually bring one sealed plastic water bottle, but no outside food or other drinks are allowed.

hope this helps and you catch a great game!