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Redefining the Venue Experience: Insights from the VenuesNow Conference

Charley DeBow

17 September 2025

Redefining the Venue Experience: Insights from the VenuesNow Conference

How a fan-first approach, with parking at the core, is reshaping dwell time, loyalty, and revenue at live events.

At the recent VenuesNow Conference in Las Vegas, industry leaders, including JustPark Managing Director, Charley DeBow, explored how venues are evolving in an age of rising expectations. The panel’s through-line was clear: fans now demand more than just a ticket and a seat. Their experience begins the moment they leave home and the touchpoints along the way can make or break loyalty.

For venues, this shift represents both a challenge and an opportunity. By adopting a fan-first mindset, operators can not only meet rising expectations but also unlock new revenue streams and long-term loyalty. Central to that journey is parking — often the very first and last impression for fans, and increasingly a strategic lever to improve dwell time, reduce friction, and enhance the overall event experience.

The fan-first mandate: make the journey effortless

A “fan-first” approach reframes the venue from a single destination to a connected journey. That journey begins the moment a fan leaves home — discovering parking options in the app, reserving a space on the venue’s website, or adding parking in the ticketing checkout flow. When these elements are integrated, fans experience less friction, arrive earlier, and spend more time on-site.

This is why modern venue strategies are shifting toward district thinking — activating the areas around stadiums with retail, food, culture, and programming that encourage fans to show up earlier and stay later. These “stadium districts” are designed to build a destination beyond the main event, increase dwell time, and diversify venue revenue. (Recent coverage highlights districts as a lever for lifetime value and year-round monetization.)

Parking is the front door (and the fond farewell)

Parking is the first and last touchpoint of most venue visits. When it’s painful, it compresses dwell time, sours sentiment, and suppresses spend. When it’s seamless — with pre-booked spaces, clear wayfinding, dynamic pricing, and coordinated egress — it creates time and headspace for fans to enjoy the destination.

Industry research reinforces this: parking functions as a brand signal and a critical component of the guest experience. (Parking is frequently identified as the “first and last touchpoint,” influencing satisfaction and repeat intent.)

A modern parking journey should feel predictable and proactive: reserve a space in-app, on the venue’s website, or directly in the ticketing checkout flow. For many fans, parking is an add-on decision made after the ticket purchase, so it needs to be visible and seamless at every stage. Once secured, the experience should be just as simple — a guaranteed space close to the right gate, real-time arrival guidance, a walking route to seats, and an exit plan sent to the phone near the end of the event. This reduces anxiety and frees up time — the necessary precondition for fans to explore the district, shop, or grab a bite.

Dwell time is the multiplier

Dwell time — the period fans spend on-site and engaged — is one of the most powerful (and underutilized) levers in venue economics. The logic is straightforward: a calm, confident arrival tends to pull the visit forward, shifting spend from outside the venue to inside the district. In analogous retail studies, extending dwell time from shorter to moderate ranges correlates with meaningful increases in spend (with diminishing returns beyond a point). (Behavioral and location analytics research consistently links longer dwell with higher conversion and spend.)

The implication for venues is clear: solve parking and arrival first. When fans aren’t budgeting 30 minutes for traffic uncertainty or hunting for a spot, they reallocate that time to concessions, merchandise, and pre-event experiences. Frictionless egress has a similar effect: fans are more likely to linger for post-game programming or a last round if they know the exit will be orderly.

Dwell time doesn’t just happen inside the venue — it starts in the parking lot.”

Charley DeBow, Managing Director North America, JustPark

Technology that fans feel (and ops teams love)

The best technology is invisible to fans and invaluable to operators. Venues are increasingly relying on smart technologies to streamline the fan journey. They use data and analytics to optimize staffing and crowd flows. Digital ticketing and license-plate recognition help automatically validate pre-booked parking. And smart signage directs drivers to the right entrances in real time, reducing confusion and bottlenecks. These tools reduce bottlenecks and create a calmer arrival — which, in turn, drives dwell and spend.

Case studies across major venues show that analytics now inform everything from ingress/egress timing and curbside allocation to security staffing and cleaning cycles, all with the aim of improving customer experience, safety, and sustainability. (Venue analytics are being applied to fan flows, sustainability goals, and CX improvements.)

Meanwhile, expectations set by streaming and at-home tech continue to pressure the in-venue experience to feel as seamless and digital as fans’ everyday lives, from payments to wayfinding to personalized offers. (Deloitte’s work notes that fans increasingly expect stadium features to mirror digital conveniences.)

Sustainability meets mobility

City partners are asking venues to help reduce congestion and emissions on event days. Parking and mobility are central to that goal: digital reservations can stagger arrivals; EV charging and incentives for carpooling can shrink footprints; and integrated transit options can rebalance mode share without sacrificing convenience.

Sustainability and fan experience are not at odds — they’re often the same design challenge viewed from different angles. When traffic jams subside and fans can plan the last mile with confidence, they arrive earlier, stay longer, and leave happier. That is, they behave like loyal customers, not just attendees.

The economics: why investment follows the experience

The push to modernize mobility and parking isn’t driven by altruism — it’s a strategic response to expanding revenue opportunities. As live events grow in popularity and stadium districts become hubs for retail, dining, and entertainment, investors are betting on mixed-use developments anchored by next-generation venues. (Recent projects highlight long-term bets on stadium-anchored districts to sustain demand and diversify revenue.)

At the operational layer, parking and curbside are evolving from cost centers to revenue engines and data sources: dynamic pricing, digital inventory management, EV charging, and partner integrations can increase yield while improving experience. Hospitality data shows that parking has a disproportionate impact on guest satisfaction — reinforcing that it’s a key part of the customer experience, not just a logistical afterthought. When done well, it sets the tone for the entire visit: reducing stress, improving arrival sentiment, and laying the groundwork for a more enjoyable and profitable event experience.(Parking trends research emphasizes experience impact and revenue innovation.)

What great looks like: five fan-first moves for the next season

Reserve to relax. Enable parking reservations not just in-app but also on the venue’s website and during the ticketing checkout flow. Parking is often purchased after the ticket, so it needs to be visible and frictionless across channels.
Signal, don’t search. Use live guidance and gate-specific signage to direct drivers without guesswork. It cuts circling the parking lot and lowers stress.
Orchestrate egress. Nudge fans with timed exit messages and wayfinding that balances flows. Encourages lingering while preserving the last impression.
Incentivize greener choices. Bundle discounts for carpools or transit plus last-mile perks (express lanes, closer bays) to reward behavior that helps both fans and the city.
Instrument the journey. Treat parking, dwell time, and fan flows as core KPIs. Share dashboards across ops, guest services, and commercial teams to align daily actions with the fan-first mandate. Data-led venues are already seeing CX and sustainability benefits.

A fan-first venue doesn’t wait to delight the moment a ticket is scanned. It designs the whole journey — especially the “unseen” moments of planning, arrival, and exit — to be intuitive and stress-free. When you design for the full fan journey, you don’t just boost satisfaction — you increase dwell time, drive higher spend, and build lasting loyalty..

Parking sits at the heart of this transformation. Make it easy, predictable, and integrated — and you’ve already won the first and last mile of the fan experience.