While Tyler Conway rooted for the Minnesota Vikings as they trailed midway through Monday night’s game against the Bears at Soldier Field, he received an alert on his phone saying his car alarm went off and accessed a camera to find out it was being towed.
Conway, 39, had parked his 2024 BMW X5 in a lot about two miles from the stadium in the 2300 block of South Michigan Avenue and spent much of the second half of the game on the phone with police and towing companies thinking his car was stolen.
When Conway got back to the lot, he noticed the entire lot of more than 40 cars had been towed as Bears and Vikings fans alike tried to figure out what was going on.
“All of our vehicles were gone; the whole entire lot was cleared out,” said Matty Y., who made the drive from far southwest Ottawa with her uncle to celebrate his birthday.
On Wednesday, Matty received a message from SpotHero apologizing for their “egregious mistake.” The message said they were “happy to add $250 credit” to her SpotHero account. Additionally, they said they would refund the cost of her SpotHero reservation, and be reimbursed for the tow costs.
Fans who parked in the lot booked their placement through parking app SpotHero and had no issues when it came to arriving at the lot, several of the affected drivers told the Chicago Sun-Times. Many had their spots reserved until 11:15 p.m. and arrived before the expiration time to find the lot empty.
A spokesperson with the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation said they didn’t tow vehicles from the lot Monday night.
Those towed had to pay a fee of $240.70 on top of costs to get from the parking lot to the towing yard in the 3600 block of South Iron Street, according to several upset fans.
Aryan Shah, a 20-year-old University of Chicago student, hopes they get reimbursed for the costs of getting their cars back.
“If SpotHero can’t reimburse us for our time, our money, the Ubers there and back, the parking [and] tow ticket, then that’s a huge problem,” Shah said. “We literally paid for a parking spot, and this thing happened to all of us.”
The towing company didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Many weren’t able to leave with their cars until early Tuesday, with the incident forcing many to lose sleep or miss work.
Several of those who paid for their spots through SpotHero say the experience made them cautious about using the app or has deterred them from using it entirely.
“I’ve used SpotHero a lot, and I’ve never had an issue,” Conway said. “It would definitely at least get me to really question the legitimacy of anything I’m booking.”
