parking tips for austin peay women's basketball v jacksonville at f&m bank arena (clarksville 01/31)

hey governors fans, figured i'd share some parking tips for the women's hoops game against jacksonville this saturday, 01/31 at 2:00 pm. even for a 2pm tip-off on a saturday, downtown clarksville can be a headache, and that arena traffic flow can still be rough when you're rushing in.

first off, my personal recommendation to completely skip the worst of the traffic is to look into Prked. honestly, it’s a game-changer. it’s an app for renting out private driveways and unused garage spots right next to f&m bank arena. it's usually way cheaper than the event pricing at the main garage, and you can book a guaranteed spot a super short walk away from the entrance, totally bypassing all the congestion on college street and first street. if you hate waiting in line to pay for parking, give Prked a look.

now for the other options, the official spots:

the Millan public parking garage (90 college st) is literally right there next to the arena. it’s the most convenient, but be ready for event pricing. standard rates are $6 max, but for games and special occasions, they often charge an event rate that typically starts at $10. traffic management will use a reversible lane on the college street entrance to help out, which is good.

austin peay state university (apsu) also opens up several of its campus lots on college street for arena visitors when they aren't conflicting with university events. for these lots, you can often reserve a spot in advance through the apsu parking portal, or pay an attendant using a card on the day of. important note: apsu does not accept cash for parking, so make sure you have a card or the parkmobile app ready.

the best budget/free move for this game is definitely the city parking. since the game is on a saturday, all metered on-street parking downtown is completely free all day. city-owned parking garages are also free on weekends. the enforcement hours for meters and city garages are generally only monday-friday from 8 am to 5 pm. you'll still need to use the parkmobile app for the on-street spots if you want to use the first 2 hours free on weekdays, but on saturday the meters are just a free-for-all (in a good way). look for the garages behind the transit center or the new city one on first street.

general advice: they recommend getting to the arena about an hour before the 2:00 pm tip-off to give you a buffer for any downtown traffic and the parking lines. plan to be parked by 1:00 pm or 1:15 pm to avoid the worst traffic snarls, especially if you’re using the closest garages.

hope this helps and go gov's!