Sunderland locals frustrated as Stadium of Light introduce parking charges

The recent fare introduction has left commuters and students unable to use the now Premier League stadium as a free alternative within the city.

As of late August, all stadium car parks remain free of charge for visitors staying less than two hours. However, those who now park for between two and four hours must now pay £4, for those staying between 4 and 8 hours it costs £8, and 24 hour parking rises to £10.

Eddie Thompson, 65, of Sunderland, a regular parker at the stadium said: ‘it’s the same everywhere, these increases are just something that you just have to accept. I don’t usually stay here too long, I usually just go for a swim for an hour and then I’m gone. But other people who stay a bit longer to go in the gym and then the pool will have to fork out a bit more. Everywhere you go it’s the same, everything’s going up more and more.”

Mr Thompson added: “I’ll look for anywhere cheap around here. There’s a big Tesco over the road but if you stay there more than a couple hours you get fined.”

 Keilee Franklin, 19 , of Sunderland also parks at the stadium regularly, saying: “I used to park here before the increase and it was really handy as I work at City Hall so it’s not far to walk. 

“I wasn’t surprised as I knew at some point we’d have to pay but I won’t lie I was a little annoyed to hear it had gone up. The problem is finding free places to park and there aren’t many places to park for free in Sunderland nowadays so I might have to leave it.”

Priced at £30, monthly passes are also available for frequent users, who will pay less than £1 per day annually. Payment will be taken into the Evology cashless parking app, with clear information to be displayed in all car parks, including details of the tariffs, payment methods, and penalties.