I-Team: Downtown parking snag.. could it happen to you?

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CLEVELAND- The FOX 8 I-Team is investigating why a local couple paid in advance for parking next to the Q Arena for a concert this week, but then had to pay to park somewhere else.

This week, Tom and Kim Hardesty went to see Journey and Def Leppard; they even had a VIP package. But they say when they got to the Gateway East Garage, the $20 they spent in advance to reserve parking meant nothing.

Kim Hardesty said, "We thought, you know, to be safe, we better buy some parking. We bought some parking, and then at the gate, we were told, ‘Sorry, go park somewhere else.’"

Tom Hardesty added, "We had pre-paid to avoid this problem, and we ran into it anyway."

They say they arrived four hours early for a chance to meet band members, but they say garage workers told them they couldn’t park there that early. So they turned to the I-Team to investigate.

We went to the office of the Gateway East Garage. A manager told us, "Parking passes are good 3 hours before the event."

But we wondered how anyone would know that.

The Cavs sent us a parking voucher, and the time limit is printed on that.

However, Tom and Kim say they never got one of those. In fact, we reviewed the paperwork from their pre-payment for parking, and we saw nothing about any time limits.

After we started looking into this, the Cavs stepped up and offered to make it right. A spokesperson issued a statement that said, in part, “We are happy to refund these folks on their parking and apologize for the confusion and inconvenience.”

Kim Hardesty says she appreciates that, but she already stopped payment on her credit card for the parking fee.

And Tom Hardesty added, "And we just don't want this to happen to other people."

So what should you know if you’re coming downtown for the Cavs NBA Finals games?

A spokesperson added, “For upcoming Finals games, please remind viewers that the Gateway East Garage is prepaid parking vouchers only, and is sold out.

Here is some helpful information about parking for fans coming down to the games.
