The park is in: Landowners near Lambeau say lots will be open for NFL Draft

GREEN BAY – As the home opener came and went in mid-September, those living closest to Lambeau Field were more concerned with the health and projected return of starting quarterback Jordan Love, not the NFL’s biggest offseason event, which is still six months away.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Keith Wilhelm, who was busy parking cars at a house his mother-in-law owns adjacent to the southern-most Lambeau lots. “I’ve been parking cars for the last ten years.”

Wilhelm says this season will also be his last because the house has been sold.

“This is the last season, so I wanted to help my regulars out by having one more season so they didn’t have to scramble,” Wilhelm added. “But, it’s the best view of Lambeau.”

And while he is going to park cars through the regular-season finale and potential playoff run in January, Wilhelm says he will not be part of the NFL Draft, hosted by the Green Bay Packers April 24-26, 2025 in and around Lambeau Field and the Titletown District.

“I don’t want to be anywhere near this place during the draft,” he told Packerland during our Sept. 15 visit. “It’s gonna be crazy. You’re going to have to walk everywhere because traffic is going to be at a standstill. No draft plans.”

Ben Selner has been parking cars for 17 years in his yard along Barberry Lane.

“There’s quite a few regulars or somebody they know usually,” he told us. “When I started I put a sign up, but there’s no need to put a sign up anymore.”

Selner does have draft plans, but for parking only.

“Unfortunately, my wife won’t let us rent the house out, so I might look into just parking some cars,” he said. “I think we’ll walk down and check it out, too, ourselves.”

Selner was born and raised in Ashwaubenon, and has been providing transportation assistance since he was a kid, when he got his first “regular.”

“The Packers have that tradition with the bikes? Yeah, I was one of them kids,” Selner recalled. “Mark Lee would take my bike all the time. He was my regular. My buddy had Gerry Ellis and we’d be up here for the two-a-day practices every day.”

Matt Blank also grew up in the neighborhood. He moved with his family in the early 1970s from Fort Atkinson to Ashwaubenon, where his father was the pastor of a church near Lambeau Field.

“I used to park cars at my parents’ house and the church,” Blank remembered. “I probably did it for thirty years. Between the church property and my parents’ property we’d do about a hundred cars.”

After the Packers bought both the home and church property from the Blanks, Matt’s mother Patricia Blank moved into a nearby home along Ridge Road four years ago. Their plans for the upcoming NFL Draft are still somewhat up in the air.

“I don’t have any plans in particular,” Matt told us. “My brother’s usually the one involved in renting the house out, because we do rent the house out, and on any weekend of the year. So, he’s the one that oversees that. As far as I know, he doesn’t have anybody for the house yet for the draft.”

As far as parking, Blank says he “most likely” will, but it may depend on who is renting the house.

“If it’s a big group and they want the back yard, then we might just end up parking in the front, so we’ll just kind of wait and see,” he said. “If they pay a lot to rent the house and they don’t want cars parked, well then? So, we’ll see. But I imagine we’ll park some cars.”

Bonnie Maxwell has lived along Ridge Road for 43 years. Her children all parked cars in the yard while they were growing up, and Bonnie has since taken over as they each moved away.

“I’m always seeing something or learning something different,” Maxwell said.

Like the others, Bonnie has her regulars.

“There’s one guy that just parked in the garage. He’s been with me for twenty-three years,” she told Packerland. “But they’ve been here from Australia, Hawaii, Germany, Ontario, you name it.”

And while she enjoys parking cars and the camaraderie among those who drive them, Bonnie says she is not giving up her personal space for the NFL Draft next spring.

“I will be parking, but I’m not renting out my home,” she said. “I thought about it, but no. That’s my private domain.”

That domain, directly southwest and just across the street from one of the most iconic venues in all of sports, is something Maxwell knows is special.

“I can sit on my sofa and just stare over there,” she told us. “I’ve lived here for so long I think I just kind of take it for granted, but I appreciate the view.”

Just a few doors down from Maxwell is Jody Hakes, who – along with wife Stephanie – parks cars in the yard of his childhood home, which the couple now owns.

“Back then we didn’t fill because the Packers weren’t the playoff Packers, so even at two-dollars a car we couldn’t fill our lot,” Hakes told us during the home-opening Sunday.

Along with parking, Hakes offers his customers the use of a bathroom and a space to bundle up for cold-weather games.

“I no longer live here, but I still own the property.”

Hakes now rents the property, usually to someone he knows or someone who knows them.

“The current tenant – which it is rented now – they know the lowdown. It’s the same as it always was. The door opens up on game day. People go in and use the bathroom. But the current tenant is a Packers fan and I think really enjoys it like my mother did,” said Hakes. “This was her highlight was the Packer game days and have people walking into her house and getting to know everybody.”

Jody’s mother Mary passed away in 2017 and now he carries on the family tradition of parking cars.

“She wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As for renting the property for next April’s draft, “a regular will probably have it for that month,” Hakes tells us. “But we haven’t actually hammered out a number yet.”

After the renter takes the parking he needs, Hakes says the rest of the spots will be up for grabs.

“I will probably have a camper here for me because I’m assuming parking will happen all day long versus just four hours,” Hakes says.

Along with help from her sister, Lisa Evenson, Angela Mihalko has been parking two dozen cars per game for twelve of the twenty years she’s lived on Morris Avenue, just a few blocks south of Lambeau Field.

“We’re still pondering (draft plans),” Mihalko told us. “I know people are renting their houses, but I don’t think I’m comfortable with that. I was debating renting the front or back out for camping or RVs. Not sure if I’ll do that. But, I think we’re definitely just gonna be parking again for those three, four days, and just charging a little more. I’m still kind of chatting with the neighbors and seeing what they’re doing and what they’ll be charging and see what other options there are. I feel like it’s probably going to end up being parking because that’s worked well for us.”

“Everybody who parks has been absolutely wonderful,” adds Evenson. “We have never had any problems. We’ve met some very interesting people. And even opposing fans have always been very gracious and very nice.”

On the day we were there, Mihalko said she got goosebumps as she parked two fathers who brought their young sons from Manhattan in New York City to see the Packers play.

“This was their dream to come to Lambeau Field and we helped them fulfill their dream today, so that was very fun for them. They’re just on Cloud Nine right now being here today for a home Packer game, so it was nice to chat with them and get their story.”

Stories like that will become all too common next April, as fans from every NFL market – and then some – converge on Wisconsin for what will likely be the state’s biggest event to date.