Parking changes for American Century Championship: What to know

STATELINE, Nev. - It is almost time for the 34th annual American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe, and with it comes thousands of people to the area to enjoy the tournament.

For years, Lake Parkway (also known as the Loop Road) has been a "No Parking" zone, but with the number of cars parking there authorities have not enforced the rules during the tournament.

That is changing this year.

Cones were placed along the road on Saturday from US50 to the state line, along with an electronic message board stating "No Parking on Loop Road."

Safety has long been a concern on this road with 130-150 cars parked along this stretch of Lake Parkway during each day of the tournament. With daily attendance on the weekend of the tournament 13-15,000, these parking spots were not a major source of parking though they were very visible.

Parking had been on bike lanes, pedestrians were always walking between parked cars, car doors were opening into traffic, then buses added to the safety mix by having to navigate the crowded road to bring participants and area hotel guests into Edgewood.

A decision was made by Douglas County and Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority (LTVA) to stop the illegal parking for celebrity golf week as they would of had to deal with it once the Tahoe Blue Events Center opened later this summer.

Since many of those parking along Lake Parkway were tournament staff and volunteers, and not all spectators, LTVA worked with Vail Resorts to over parking at the Heavenly Cal Base lot and use shuttles. An agreement is in place this year to shuttle volunteers and employees from the lodge to the tournament on a frequent schedule.

The ultimate goal would be to have a bus service for spectators also, but with buses already being used from the Bay Area, Reno, and Amador Stage Lines to cover participants, VIPS, and now the volunteers, there weren't any left for this year.

LTVA CEO Carol Chaplin said transportation advisors couldn't work out a new plan for spectator busing in a short time for 2023, but it hasn't been ruled out for the future. To make it work there needs to be an analysis of numbers, traffic patterns, best place for off-site parking.

"We didn't think we could do a good job of spectator off-site this year," said Chaplin.

To help alleviate the elevated need for parking, the Tahoe Bike Coalition will have bike valet services at the back of the Hard Rock Tahoe parking lot, and LTVA will put two more Lake Link vehicles into service for Thursday-Sunday. Scooters are also an option.

The casinos all have paid parking. A condition of the permit for the Tahoe Blue Events Center includes addressing neighborhood parking, so the tournament is a peek into the next hurdle.

"We are trying to dip our toes in the water in providing better options," said Chaplin.

For more information on the American Century Championship, visit https://americancenturychampionship.com/.