Warning parking tickets issued on Odysseo opening night

A warning ticket issued for one of the vehicles parked along Wilkes Avenue Sept. 10.

It's the biggest show to hit Winnipeg in years and it comes with a big warning – if you're heading to Cavalia's Odysseo, watch where you park.

On Thursday, 74 drivers left the area to find warning parking tickets on their windshield.

These people were employees and volunteers at Odysseo. According to Cavalia, they were told to park on the street as temporary parking before the show’s opening.

Cavalia has now opened another designated parking area after the tickets were issued.

The stretch of Wilkes Avenue where the show is being held is normally quiet, but was lined with parked vehicles on the opening night of Odysseo.

"(Vehicles) start coming between 3:00 p.m. To 4:00 p.m., something like that," said Eduardo Skiarski, the general manager of Roses for Canada which is located right next to the event grounds.

Before the show began, Skiarski said he saw the Winnipeg Parking Authority.

“They came, started taking pictures, put something on the window. I’m not sure if it was a warning or it was a ticket,” he said.

This time, the parking authority said warning tickets were given to 74 vehicles parked in a designated "no parking" zone.

It was a shock to some drivers including Mackenzie Hoy, who had come to volunteer at Odyesso Thursday night.

"I was really mad; I got off a six-hour shift and I had a ticket. But I’m not as mad anymore because I think it's just a warning, there's no fine allotted,” she said.

The parking authority said that could change in coming days.

"We will have our officers on site early so we can dissuade people from parking there, but I do have to indicate that if people are still non-compliant, they could be subject to a ticket and tow," said Randy Topolinski from the Winnipeg Parking Authority.

With nearly 2,000 people at each of Osyesso's 40 Winnipeg shows, Topolinski said safety is a concern.

“After the people were let out, people were walking down both sides of Wilkes,” he said. “We certainly don't want a tremendous event that's coming to Winnipeg to be marred by someone having an accident, being hit because they're walking down a very busy street."

Cavalia said they offer spaces for 800 cars and patrons can also find parking space in two other lots close to site.

Roses for Canada, as well as the Golf Dome, are both offering 100 overflow spaces at $10 each for vehicles that can't fit in Cavalia's parking lot.