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Survey of 3,000+ UK drivers highlights demand for smarter solutions as UK gears up for busy autumn of football fixtures and gigs
Following the kick off of the new football season, JustPark, the UK’s leading parking app, has released research revealing the extent to which parking is still disrupting the event experience for UK drivers.
With millions of football fans now heading back to matches nationwide every week, and a packed Autumn calendar of live gigs and events happening across the UK, the findings underline how something as simple as parking can sour the whole fan experience.
In response, JustPark has launched a dedicated matchday parking hub, designed to make getting to and from games simpler. Football fans can easily find parking, reserve a space in advance and cut out the matchday hassle, whether heading to a home fixture or travelling away.
Supporters can search, via dedicated club pages, such as this one for Arsenal, for parking availability near to stadiums for every match, and then pre-book spaces. It means fewer last-minute scrambles, shorter queues after the final whistle and a more relaxed matchday experience from start to finish. The guides have already been rolled out for Premier League clubs with plans to expand across the leagues in the coming months.
JustPark is also encouraging all venues, whether used for sport, music or conferences, to adopt smarter parking solutions that can ease congestion, enhance fan experience and unlock new revenue opportunities.
JustPark’s research, which polled over 3,100 UK drivers, showed:
- More than 8 in 10 drivers (84%) have felt stressed trying to find parking for a ticketed event.
- Nearly three-quarters of drivers (73%) say parking challenges have actively put them off attending events altogether.
- Almost half (48%) have spent over 30 minutes searching for a space at an event with a quarter of drivers(24%) missing the start of an event entirely.
- Whilst more than half (56%) have left an event early due to parking concerns.
In a recent example, Celebrity fan Josh Widdicombe mentioned on his hit podcast Parenting Hell how he used JustPark to avoid getting stuck in traffic around Wembley Stadium at a recent boxing match.
The release of this data follows a huge year for UK live entertainment. In 2024, the live music industry grew 35% compared to 2019. That surge brought in over £10 billion to the UK economy, with 23.5 million music tourists travelling to gigs across the country, a 22% year-on-year increase.
This year is on track to be even bigger: JustPark’s data shows that major UK venues hosted almost twice as many events this summer as in 2024, fuelled by blockbuster tours from Beyoncé, Coldplay, and the Oasis reunion. Meanwhile, fan demand for football is higher than ever, with ticket sales and fixture attendance both trending upwards.
“Whether it’s the local football derby or a long-awaited gig, the journey to and from a venue should be part of the excitement, not the stress. But our research shows that parking remains one of the most frustrating parts of the day for fans,” said Anthony Eskinazi, Founder and President of JustPark.
“Missed kick-offs, delayed arrivals, long queues just to leave – these are avoidable issues. Parking should be simple. It should work just like your ticket or your seat, guaranteed, easy to access, and part of the experience. JustPark wants to be part of the solution, making parking easier so fans can focus on the moments that matter.”
In 2024, JustPark merged with ParkHub, the leading North American provider of event parking technology, and now operates across more than 450 US venues, powering over 40 million parking transactions each year. That experience is now being rolled out in the UK through JustPark’s EventPass technology, flexible on-demand options and real-time availability solutions, already live at London’s The O2 amongst others.
