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.
“You’re at the game having a good time. It’s a beautiful night. I actually would’ve preferred not to [immediately] know,” Conway said.
When Conway got back to the lot, he noticed the entire lot of over 40 cars was 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.
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.
“I couldn’t f- – – – ing believe it,” said Mark Wolfkiel, a 61-year-old Bears fan from Forest Park. “Police were there trying to figure out what was going on, but they basically said, ‘There’s nothing we can do.'”
Wolfkiel and his son were among 45 to 70 people waiting at ER Towing after game.
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.”
Many weren’t able to leave with their cars until early Tuesday, with the incident forcing many to lose sleep or miss work.
Conway, who lives in North Barrington, didn’t get home until about 3 a.m. and had to cancel his morning dermatology appointments for Tuesday.
“I knew when it was all going on that it was going to affect me in that way too, which is terrible,” Conway said.
Matty, who is on workers’ compensation, didn’t get back home until around 5 a.m. and has been awake for over 24 hours, she said.
“I’m gonna have to deal with being in pain for the next day or two until my body gets regulated again, which really sucks,” Matty said. “This whole situation for me had a pretty decent domino effect.”
The towing company and SpotHero didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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.”