Coming soon to a parking meter near you: Container Park coupons

By Daniel Rothberg

Tuesday, June 30, 2015 | 5:30 p.m.

Container Park is expanding its borders. To your parking meter.

Coupons for 13 merchants in the open-air retail center will appear on 16 parking kiosks around the area.

Meters near Container Park will feature split screens. One side will show the usual form for purchasing parking passes. The other side will offer deals from places like JinJu Chocolates, Downtown Beauty and Cheffini’s, the hot dog shop by the park's front entrance.

The program is the first run of “City Connector,” a partnership between MasterCard and Parkeon, which manufactures some of the city's meters. If it's successful, the coupon program is expected to expand to other locations across the country.

MasterCard and Parkeon, whose goal with the initiative is “to enhance the urban mobility experience,” announced City Connector Tuesday at the International Parking Institute conference in Las Vegas.

The idea is to better use infrastructure to bolster local business, and the City of Las Vegas thought Container Park would be a good spot for the pilot program because of its high-concentration of boutique stores, said Brandy Stanley, the city’s parking manager.

“I’m very excited about it,” Stanley said. “If it works, if it’s sustainable, I think it’s a great way to drive business downtown and support the local merchants.”

The coupons require no registration so passersby, in addition to parkers, are welcome to print them out.