Football fan shares smart parking hack which saves an hour of match day traffic

Seeing as the new football season has just kicked off, a Premier League fan has revealed a simple but effective parking tip that helps him dodge post‑match gridlock and get home quicker after watching his team.

Estate agent, Aidan Lemming, a lifelong Brentford FC supporter from Oxfordshire, frequently drives to West London with family to watch The Bees. But like thousands of fans up and down the country, he used to spend over an hour stuck in queues after games. Now, instead of parking close to the stadium, Aidan books a hotel car park around 10–15 minutes’ walk from the Gtech Community Stadium through online pre‑booking platform YourParkingSpace. The short stroll means he avoids the worst of the traffic, and shaves up to an hour off his journey home.

Aidan said: “I usually drive down with my twin brother, sometimes with the rest of the family too. Before, we’d be stuck in traffic for more than an hour after every game, which really took the shine off the day – which felt like adding insult to injury when we’d lost!

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“Now we park at a Premier Inn about 10–15 minutes from the stadium and it makes all the difference – we’re home in about 45 minutes, compared with the hour and 45 it used to take. For me, it’s not just the time saving, it’s actually quite fun walking back with other fans. You feel part of the match day atmosphere rather than just sat in gridlock. For the sake of a short stroll, it makes the whole experience so much easier.”

Aidan's tip comes as many football fans go online to ask tips for match day parking. This includes another Brentford fan who took to Reddit to seek just that. The fan asked: "Please could someone tell me where are the best places to park near the Gtech on a match day? Also, are there many road closures? Thank you."

His experience is backed up by a new independent survey of 2,000 Brits by YourParkingSpace, which found parking problems are discouraging many from attending matches.

Almost half (49%) said they are discouraged by the prospect of sitting in traffic around stadiums, while more than half (53%) find queueing to leave a car park one of the most stressful parts of the day.

Cost is another major concern. Nearly six in ten (59%) of people polled believe football parking is too expensive, and more than a third (35%) admitted they have skipped matches altogether because finding a space was either too difficult or too costly.

There is, however, appetite for change. The study found that a majority (53%) would be more likely to attend if parking was easier to find and book in advance, while the same number of respondents welcomed the idea of pre‑booking spaces through an app.

Andy Syrett, Chief Revenue Officer at YourParkingSpace, said: “We’d encourage football fans to consider other ways to park like Aidan does, such as pre‑booking online for locations within a short walking distance, which also helps them avoid match day congestion.

"Over a season, supporters can also make considerable savings, leaving more money in their pockets – possibly for a half‑time pie and match day programme.”

YourParkingSpace, which partners with operators such as Premier Inn, lists thousands of pre‑bookable spaces nationwide at hotels, pubs, private driveways and commercial car parks – offering football fans convenient, affordable alternatives on match days.