On 19th December 2014 Wasps Rugby club moved to the Ricoh Arena. In preparation for this EST reviewed the transport operation plan and off-site parking for the Ricoh Arena to adapt to the new spectator profile that Rugby brings to the venue. This was tested on the inaugural match that Wasps played at the venue, where existing fans travelled from London and new fans arrived at the venue from the West Midlands, many of whom were unfamiliar with the area. The match attendance was over 28,000, a new record for Wasps.
The traffic operation plan was reviewed for the venue, this has been established for a number of years and includes direction signing to the venue and official off-site car parks, traffic management to ensure spectator safety and match day parking operations. This highlighted a number of changes to refine the plan, such as introducing new parking signage and parking areas to ensure those unfamiliar with the area could access the venue easily.
Prior to the inaugural match EST invested in a new advance purchase parking system (https://secure.ricoharenaparking.co.uk) and developed a fully portable ANPR camera system for our on and off-site car parks, which have allowed both the Ricoh Arena and EST to better plan for the expected traffic at the venue. The advance ticketing has given the fans certainty that they can park near to the venue when they travel, particularly as there is a 2 mile Event Day parking zone in operation around the venue and has increased the certainty of the number of spaces required for each match.
The advance ticketing combined with the ANPR system has significantly increased the speed in which cars can access all the car parks, reducing congestion of the network, reducing the need for cash collection on-site and improving the customer arrival experience to the venue.
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