Dunedin Venues Management Ltd operations manager Coryn Huddy said after coming to an arrangement with Wilson Parking it had introduced charges last month for the nearly 300 parks outside the eastern side of the stadium. People who used the parks were now charged either $1 an hour or $5 a day and could make use of parks both on event days and during the week.
DVML had always planned to charge for the car parks and had budgeted to make a ''significant sum of money'' from charging for them, he said.
''It was always a budgeted revenue stream. It's just taken this ... [long] to get it going.''
Mr Huddy would not reveal the amount it had budgeted to make from the parks, saying that figure was confidential.
Asked if people had complained about the change, he said: ''There has been the odd person, but that's what you would expect.''
He expected the parks would be ''fairly busy'' once the slower summer period was over.
''It's a spot not too far from the city and ... it's cheaper than parking in the middle of town.''
DVML also plans to introduce charges for between 40 and 60 parks outside the University Plaza by mid-February.
''We are just finalising the arrangements with the university ... and also the Dunedin City Council, with regards to consents,'' he said.
This would not affect University of Otago staff members who were part of the institution's free ''Park n Ride'' scheme. At the moment, 150 spaces are available outside the University Plaza for members of the scheme, who could also make use of a free shuttle which took staff to the main areas of the university.
When asked why it had taken so long to introduce charges at the car park, Mr Huddy said it was ''always'' going to take some time to find a partner and make the changes.
