Canberra Stadium introduces new parking payment system for Raiders and Brumbies games

A group of frustrated ACT Brumbies fans vented their anger on social media on the weekend after some were stuck in the queue for more than 20 minutes while others turned around to find other entry points.

A new paywave payment system, which has been introduced for games this year, has emerged as the problem after the machines struggled to process details fast enough to keep traffic moving.

Free parking was eventually offered and the stadium staff - who also take charge of car parks - were confident most punters got to their seats before the start of the Brumbies' tense win against the Queensland Reds.

But Brumbies bosses have asked for guarantees the problem has been fixed ahead of their clash against Moana Pasifika on Saturday, and the Canberra Raiders' first home game on Sunday, as they fight to retain and rebuild their supporter base.

The Brumbies are undefeated after the first three games of the season and are second on the Super Rugby ladder.

"It's disappointing that some people were caught in the delays because we wanted them to be talking about how great the game was and how great the team is going," said Brumbies chairman Matt Nobbs.

"We don't control those areas and it's unfortunate because this team really does deserve the support of the entire region. They've been playing well for a number of years now.

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"We'll work with the stadium and the ACT government to get it right. We're working really hard to connect with the community and get them back to games because we desperately need that support. We shouldn't be talking about something like this.

"We don't want to give people an excuse not to be there because this team is performing."

Canberra Stadium boss Matt Elkins is confident the teething issues have been solved after introducing the new payment system on both sides of the ground.

The same paywave machines were used at the western parking locations without problem, but the eastern side processing was slower and led to a backlog of supporters.

Canberrans are notorious for turning up just before kick-off to sporting events and wanting to park at the front door, and long lines are a regular fixture of Raiders' home games when the crowd swells to close to 20,000.

But there was surprise when the parking line snaked down Masterman St and back on to Ginninderra Drive for the Brumbies' opener given the crowd was under 10,000.

Traditionally drivers have paid cash to staff standing on Masterman St on the eastern side before continuing on to find their own parking spot.

But regulations stipulate the paywave payments cannot be made while the car is on the road, meaning staff now have to collect cash or card payments when cars stop in their parking spot.

"The signal on the western side seemed to be working fine and it was working on the east, but it was just slow for whatever reason," Elkins said.

"We sent more people across there and started running in the aisles because you have to bring people into the car park so they can tap.

"It was less efficient than we wanted it to be, but we were able to clear it before kick off. We know what [the problem] was. We've got more tap-and-go machines for next weekend and we'll have more people over there so that we've got a resolution."

The ACT government, the stadium, the Brumbies and the Raiders have been working together in the off-season to find ways to create a better game-day experience for spectators.

The pre and post-game "Huddle" zone was launched for the first time last weekend, and the government has slashed the price of the five most popular menu items by $1 to make games more affordable.

The Brumbies invited fans on the field after the game last week and gave an impromptu rendition of the team's victory song, giving their supporters a rare insight to something that usually goes on behind closed doors.

The club had hoped to open the gates to have fans on the field after every home match this year, but the fact the Raiders are playing less than 24 hours later makes it impossible to go head this weekend.

Instead, the Brumbies are planning to have fans back on the field again after their clash against the NSW Waratahs on April 1.

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