CLEARWATER, Fla. — Clearwater residents and visitors are getting their first taste of the new Coachman Park and The Sound venue.

After years of work and millions of dollars spent, the city's largest project - in both size and price - officially opened on Wednesday evening.

What You Need To Know

  • Coachman Park and The Sound venue opened to the public on Wednesday

  • Some concertgoers arrived hours ahead of time to stake out their spot

  • City officials encourage spectators to plan out their parking ahead of time and arrive early for events

When it comes to concerts, Lori Smola doesn't mess around. 

“The motivation is being in that front row," she said. "When Robin Zander comes out and starts singing, that’s all that matters.”

Smola and her entourage were among the first in line for the grand opening of the park and arena on Wednesday.

They didn't want to let traffic or parking issues stop them from getting the best seats to see the Cheap Trick concert. 

“The early bird gets the worm," she said. "We want front row or we don’t go, and so we’re crazy and we got here early. Twelve o’clock. The show starts at seven but you know we walk around, do our thing. It’s all about that front row man.”

The Sound can hold up to 9,000 people for its largest concerts. According to city officials, there are typically just 2,000 parking spaces available in downtown Clearwater. Officials are working on additional options, such as using county lots in the evening and on weekends, as well as private parking.

There is also one lot for those who are handicapped, which is another reason why Smola got downtown with plenty of time to spare.

"We got a handicapped spot for my friend who can’t walk that well so we got here nice and early," she said. “Look for event parking and just find the first one and go with it because the closer you get, the more traffic and then you’re going to get antsy, you’re going to get in late because that’s a lot of people and it’s during the week so you’ve got a lot of people that are still working. But we took the day off so we were smart.”

The Clearwater Ferry is running on an extended schedule to take people between downtown Clearwater, Clearwater Beach and downtown Dunedin for this week's events at Coachman Park.

Clearwater's free trolley is also making multiple stops throughout downtown to bring people to the park. 

If you plan to venture to Coachman Park for any of the grand opening events over the next week, city officials said your best bet is to plan your parking ahead of time. 

For more parking information, click here.