Hockey fans this season are learning either to do without food, drinks and convenient parking -- or to bring extra cash.

Sullivan Arena jacked up prices at the beginning of the Alaska Aces season earlier this month, charging 20 percent more for parking ($6 instead of $5), almost 8 percent more for alcohol, and almost 4 percent more for food.

One of the few items spared:

Ear plugs. For $1.75, you can still protect yourself from clanging cowbells and bellowing fog horns -- and the complaints of those who aren't happy paying $10.25 for a 24-ounce cup of Bud.

"It's gotten ridiculous, and it's getting to the point where it's going to be hard for Sullivan Arena," said Abe Duke of Anchorage, a regular at Aces games. "So many people are bringing in their own food and beer now because the prices are ridiculous."

More people seem to be choosing free parking away from the arena and a bit of a walk over a $6 parking fee.

Duke said when he arrived for the first game of the season, he was surprised to learn the previously free overflow parking area on the other side of Mulcahy Stadium, next to Kosinski Fields, was going to cost him.

"We turned around and parked somewhere else," he said.

Lots of people are parking in a private lot across A Street, west of the arena. That's always been the case, but Duke thinks even more people are using it this season.

"You see more and more people parking there and walking across the road," he said.

The price increases were proposed this year by SMG, the management group that runs the arena, and approved by the city, which owns it. The increases are for all events, not just hockey.

Sarah Erkmann, a spokeswoman for the city, said the increases were a matter of economics.

"(The arena's) prices went up with the cost of heating the place and maintaining the facility, so they're passing the cost onto the consumer," she said. "It's just kind of classic economics."

And it could have been worse.

SMG's proposed increases were considerably higher than those approved by the city. The management group asked to raise food prices by 16 percent and beer and wine prices by 14 percent. The city agreed to 4 percent and 8 percent increases instead. Among them:

• Last year's $4.25 cheeseburger now costs $4.75. SMG's proposed price was $5.75. In 2002, it cost $4.

• Last year's $6 mini-pizza now costs $6.50. SMG was hoping to get $7.50. In 2002, it cost $4.

• Last year's $9.50 24-ounce cup of beer now costs $10.25. SMG's proposed price was $11. In 2002, it cost $8.25.

• Last year's $6.25 16-ounce bottle of beer now costs $6.75. SMG's proposed price was $7.25. In 2002, it cost $5.25.

The city gets a share of Sullivan Arena's total profits, Erkmann said. It gets 50 percent of the first $300,000 and 70 percent of all profit after that.

"And it's generally profitable, so the city does make money," she said.

The money is earmarked for the building capital fund, she said.

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