Parking near Grady Gammage Auditorium will be closed in early October, forcing 2,500 parking decal holders to relocate to other campus parking locations as ASU planners prepare the campus for the presidential debate.
ASU spokeswoman Carolyne Kennedy said the parking lots are being closed so that construction of a media filing center at Gammage can be completed.
Parking Lot 3 at Gammage Auditorium will be closed from the evening of Oct. 8 and will reopen on Oct. 18.
During that time, ASU disabled parking decal holders who park in Lot 3 will have to park at Lot 41, located next to the College of Law Library on McAllister Avenue.
Employees and students with parking decals at Lot 3 at Gammage Auditorium will park in Lot 16 on a first-come, first-served basis at the old Tempe Center on Mill Avenue and University Drive.
Additional parking for Lot 3 decal holders will be available in Lot 40 at Apache Boulevard and McAllister Avenue.
Journalism senior Rob Adams, who has a parking decal in Lot 3, said he feared ASU planners would relocate Lot 3 decal holders to Lot 59.
"I really can't complain because Lot 16 is much closer to my classes than where I usually park," said Adams. "It would have been difficult to find parking at Lot 59 and then try to get to a class at 7 in the morning."
Residential roof parking for students in Structure 1 will be closed from the afternoon of Oct. 12 to Oct. 14. Decal holders can park in residential Lots 35, 37 and 38, south of Apache Boulevard.
Visitor parking in Structure 1 will be closed Oct. 9 through Oct. 15. There will be visitor parking at Lot 17W at Apache Boulevard and College Avenue on the day before and during the debate (Oct. 12 and 13).
Visitors can park in Lot 45 at the University Services Building or may reserve parking in Lot 42, located at McAllister Avenue and Lemon Street by contacting the Parking and Transit Services or visiting their Web site.
More than 1,000 media members are expected to cover the debate and will be transported to and from campus via shuttles.
Parking for visitors to Speaker's Corner, an area approved for protesters at the Student Recreation Complex, can park in Lot 59E on Sixth Street and Rural Road, and Lot 59NE, located east of Rural Road and north of Rio Salado.
Special education junior Jeff Post, who usually parks at Structure 1, said finding parking would be difficult.
"I might just take a bus or get a ride from a friend because finding a parking [spot] could be a pain in the ass," Post said.
Metered parking on Forest Avenue and Gammage Parkway will be available until Monday evening, Oct. 11, assuming there are no changes in plans to erect planned security fencing ASU officials said.
FLASH Forward and FLASH Back, Tempe's free shuttle services, will be suspended on the day of the debate, Oct. 13. In the meantime, University FLASH Service will operate extended hours on Oct. 13 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
FLASH Express service will operate on Oct. 13 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Lot 59 to the Lot 40 area.
Apache Boulevard will be closed from College Avenue to 10th Street on Oct. 12-14. Gammage Parkway and Forest Avenue will also be closed on the same days.
Computer system engineering senior Mario Demiguel said he won't drive to campus but will get a ride with a friend.
"I wouldn't even try driving to school on that day."
Reach the reporter at laosamoa.poasa@asu.edu.