TAMPA, Fla. — Frank Traina said he's been a part of the West Tampa community his whole life. For most people, West Tampa has always been their home.
“Born and raised my whole entire life at the same house. I love this neighborhood,” fellow resident Manny Novo said.
It’s a neighborhood that’s unique because it’s right across the street from Raymond James Stadium. It transforms on game days.
“Super Bowl, everyone was charging $50 a car. I had the whole yard sold for a party,” Traina said.
For decades homeowners have offered up their front yards to Bucs fans looking for a place to park.
“It’s a game day experience essentially. Coming to the Raymond James Stadium, you know, parking across the street, it’s limited," Traina said. "So a lot of people typically like to park in the neighborhood."
Most houses have their regulars they look forward to every football season.
“A lot of them have been here since the ‘60s and they live for this,” Traina said.
The parking also helps neighbors make some extra cash.
“A lot of these residents have been doing this to help out with things that they need around this house."
But it’s not just about the parking.
“This is one of my favorite things about this tradition, is that you have a lot of our neighbors that they make their signs,” Traina said.
Residents tell ABC Action News things had been going smoothly until September.
“One day, just out of the blue, we see people from the parking department coming and giving pre-printed warnings out to everybody,” Traina said.
He said the warnings were for parking in a city-owned right of way. But neighbors argue it’s part of their front yards.
“They were out giving violations on our personal vehicles in the driveway,” Novo said.
Traina said the cars "aren't even in the street."
“You would be getting tickets for people parking in your driveways," he continued. "For me, on game days, I have friends over and they basically told me that four cars on my property would’ve had to be relocated, or they would’ve gotten cited. Even though it’s technically city property, we maintain it."
The neighborhood is part of the MacFarlane Park Neighborhood Association, and residents got together to take their concerns to the City Council to clear the air.
"Most of our community is retired, so this has been their longstanding tradition to help with the small things they need," Novo said. "And when you take it away from them, it feels like a threat."
ABC Action News reached out to the City to find out what’s going on, and this is the statement they sent:
Parking near Raymond James Stadium in West Tampa is a time-honored tradition. The City of Tampa Parking Enforcement team has not issued any citations, but encourages people to park cars in a safe manner.
Residents believe this was just a misunderstanding with the City but worry this could be an issue again in the future. They hope to continue this tradition for years to come.
“Going forward with things like this, especially with such a longstanding tradition, our thing is just to respect it," Traina said. "And if you are going to make moves or try to make a change to something like that, then that should be something taken up with the residents."
