parking tips for university of arizona icecats vs. grand canyon university - men's ice hockey at tucson arena (tucson az 01/29)

hey fellow icecats fans, figured i'd share some parking tips for the gcu game on thursday 01/29 at 7:30 pm. it's downtown tucson, so parking can honestly be a real headache if you don't have a gameplan.

first off, if you want to skip the traffic and the inevitable line of cars trying to get into the official lots, check out Prked. it's an app where people rent out their driveways and garages right next to the tucson arena, so it's a super short walk, it's usually way cheaper than the event rate, and you get to bypass all the madness on church avenue.

if Prked doesn't work out, you have a few good alternatives starting with the official tucson convention center (tcc) lots: lot a garage (off church ave) and lots b and c (off granada). the tcc has around 900-1,000 spots for event parking. the event rate is typically $10, though it can fluctuate up to $15. major heads up: they only take debit or credit cards now, no cash at the parking booths, so plan on using a card or the premium parking app. traffic getting into lot a on church avenue can be a total nightmare close to game time, so plan to be there at least 30-45 minutes early if you go that route. also, be aware that the lot c parking garage elevator might be out of service due to construction.

a secret-ish strategy is street parking. since the game is on a thursday and starts at 7:30 pm, all metered street parking in the downtown core is free after 5:00 pm. if you get there around 6:00-6:30 pm, you'll completely miss the weekday rush hour and have plenty of time to find a free spot a few blocks away on congress or church street after the meters are off. if you do show up before 5:00 pm, meters are $1 per hour, and you can pay with coin, card, or the gotucson parking app. stick to the meters with the longer time limits.

for a slightly longer but much easier walk and exit, look into the 24/7 downtown garages like the la placita garage, centro garage, pennington street garage, or city-state garage. these off-site garages are often a much quicker exit than the tcc lots and have evening flat rates that can be as low as $3 to $6. just make sure you avoid the library garage, as it closes at 9:00 pm on a weekday, which is risky for a 7:30 pm game. you can also look into booking a spot in advance using an app like spothero.

if you want zero driving stress near the venue, the sun link streetcar is your best bet. you can park further away, maybe near the mercado district, and take the streetcar right to the tcc stop. a great bonus is that sun link rides are currently fare-free.

whatever you do, a huge warning: do not park in the residential neighborhoods directly south of the tcc, especially past cushing street. those areas are permit-only, and the city is really strict about towing. stick to the downtown core streets or designated lots.

hope this helps and go icecats!