Gameday RB Arena Travel/Parking/Hangout Thread [Merged]

Anyone? Anyone?

Please, don't be so f'ing cheap.

It has to be easier to exit from this parking; probably could save about 45 minutes.

The last three games, driving in has taken anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes longer.

When we finally entered Harrison there was one man doing a miserable job of directing
traffic. His poor efforts literally backed up cars for four to six miles (that's a guess).
Once we got past this guy it was much easier.

In the past there was an actual Harrison cop, sometimes several, who kept that steady stream of cars moving. All of last year this was never an issue. Lately it is getting
worse and worse. Last night was the worst experience. Doesn't Red Bull have any
responsibility or accountability for this?

The management of almost everything that has to do with customer interaction is
less than zero with the organization. The Jersey lines were poorly managed with not enough tables or people to man them. They did not have enough actual Jerseys. These things were pre ordered. How can you not count out the products that were purchased and prepare for customers to pick them up?

Now we have to pay more and the service is going down the tubes.

Yes, I am very jazzed that we won and made the playoffs. The guys looked fantastic on the field. Its a damn shame that the Red Bull Organization is so awfully and thoughtlessly run.
The horrendous parking conditions, traffic and completely uninformed and frequently rude staff are gonna drive me away for good.

Been following this team for years and years but as Shep would say, if you're Red Bull you better get it together and take better care of your loyal fan base.

For the last three games the cops directing traffic from 280/Essex to Frank Rodgers Blvd. have been idiots. Although there are two lanes turning left onto another two lane road, the cops only stop the left southbound lane on Frank Rodgers Blvd. and allow cars in the right lane to proceed, creating a very dangerous situation for both the cars in the right lane turning onto Frank Rodgers as well as the cars already in the right lane on Frank Rodgers driving straight through the underpass. I flipped off the idiot cop who was directing cars on both streets to proceed as one of the oncoming cars almost hit me last night as I was turning left onto Frank Rodgers. Idiots. Jersey is filled with stupid cops, but Harrison cops are the dumbest of the dumb.

For whatever it's worth, I still know folks who never went back after last year's season opener where a 20 minute ride home, took 2 hours.

Bottom line is that the location of RBA in Harrison was a mistake. The old MetroStars regime figured that many of the Portugese locals would be walking to the game with numerous others from the city talking the PATH. That obviously hasn't happened. Also, add the fact that many folks from the "suburbs" won't go anywhere near the area. This is not an area to put a 25K seat stadium (which is an understatement) with limited one-lane roads to lead you to the major roadways.

The hardcore fans will disagree because they don't mind the traffic issues because of the trade-off of having good restaurants and bars in the Ironbound section you can go to either before or after a game. The problem is that most of the fans who attend aren't hardcore and after one bad experience, will not be back. I'm one of those hardcore fans who actually drives the longer route, to avoid all of the hot spots that I know will be at a stand-still.

Most folks have made it clear that after a long day at work, they're in no mood to be sitting in more traffic and would rather watch at home.

The PATH experience was particularly horrible on Thursday as well. I probably could have walked to Penn Station and gotten on a train faster than I did going through Harrison.

I realize this is out of Red Bull's control, but something needs to happen.

There were two police officers at the entrance only letting a few people in at a time. I thought at first it was because the station was overcrowded, but when I was let in, there were maybe 30-40 people waiting. One minute later a regular scheduled train to World Trade shows up and leaves less then 1/4 full. I got lucky, but I knew there were hundreds of people behind me who could have made that train if it weren't for the two cops.

You should actually do that every time. Unless you want to leave the game early just to get to the station early, your best bet is to walk over the bridge to Penn and pick up the PATH there before people get on at Harrison. Even if the timing works out that you get to your destination at the same time, it si worth it not to have to deal with the Harrison Station experience.

I've never had to take the PATH after a Red Bull game myself, but I would hope that eventually they can get to the point where there are a few path trains leaving directly from Harrison after the game. And i mean this as in empty cars waiting to go, not half-full from Newark already.


I've been to a few Mets games, and i recall their being subway trains lined up one after another to get the huge throng of people out of there ASAP.

Because of the track layout at Harrison I don't believe it's possible to line-up extra trains. But PATH does line-up extra trains at Newark Penn for the post-match rush. You can see the extra trains with their drivers waiting for the green light from one of the adjacent NJ Transit platforms.

Brilliant. Go Port Authority!

May just try that on Sunday.

As pointed out, they can't do that, since there's nowhere to park the trains between Newark and Harrison. Besides, the number of people who get on the PATH at Newark at this time of night is negligible unless there's an event at Prudential ending at the same time. The extra trains from Newark are enough. The timing of when you get to leave Journal Square is ridiculous though.

Interesting article on parking and getting towed in the Wendy's parking lot and in the next door shopping mall

http://www.dailyharrison.com/harrison-news/from-our-readers/961-parking-during-red-bulls-games

I am posting this so that no one else gets caught unsuspecting. I had given a thought to parking in that shopping center thinking that if I ate at Nino's I could leave the car and come back later, but luckilly I never did

There are signs in those lots that make it pretty clear that is what will happen.

I noticed the preview e-mail for Sunday's game said that the Taco Truck, Mozzarepa Truck, and the grill would be available.

Only the Taco Truck was there.

Did the other two no-show for a crowd of 20K or did RB get it wrong?

Trolley: An important note: we will be using yellow school buses to increase the number of vehicles

heh

I am looking to go to my first red bulls game with the family this saturday. Can someone give me tips on parking, like, how early should I arrive, how bad is it to get out of the lot (or even get into the lot) and should I park outside the stadium and walk in if that is possible?

I am coming from Queens and do not know the area at all.

Thanks

Thanks

agree with kokoplus10. 4/14/12 will be my 3rd game; the two other times i parked in the ironbound (once in a $5 lot and once found street parking) and walked over the bridge with my 10 yr old and 8 yr old. the walk is not terribly long and made bearable with the sight of the gleaming stadium right in front of you.

i also come from queens and the toughest part of the trip is getting into NJ from the holland tunnel.

this time i hope to get some quick food in the ironbound and that other stickied food thread has proved helpful.

Park at the Iberia lot and go in and have some drinks or some food and they take the $10 parking fee off of your check. It's worth it if you were planing to stop somewhere in the first place.

Went to El Pastor yesterday for the first time. Nice spot, will be returning soon!

Went to El Pastor pre game as well, their increased popularity has not helped their food situation, the portuguese sausage sandwich I got was cold from sitting out in those tins and it was a buck or two more expensive than last year. Beer is still nice and cheap though!

For all those interested. There is big news on the Harrision station front. It's official. The work on the station upgrade will finally get going and is scheduled to be completed in 2 1/2 years. The station won't get shut down while the work is going on. There will be two exits instead of the one there is currently and it will look much nicer. One of the entrances will also be on the other side of that road we normally have to cross so we don't have to cross the street anymore to get into the station.