DENVER -- Businesses around Invesco Field hiked up parking prices Thursday afternoon for people going to the speech by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, prompting some people to say it was price gouging, a CALL7 undercover investigation found.

“Eighty bucks to park; what do you think is going on here?” CALL7 Investigator Tony Kovaleski asked some visitors who just paid to park by the stadium.

“I think they're gouging,” said Maxine, from Los Angeles, who declined to give her last name. “I just thought it was over the top. I though it could be more reasonable because Obama is a man of the people. He doesn't want them to gouge us.”

Business owners, who were charging between $50 and $80 for parking on Federal Boulevard, said there were only charging the market price – which people were willing to pay to park near the stadium.

"We've talked to people parking along this area, and they're not happy,” Kovaleski said.

“Well, sure,” an attendant said.

“They say you're gouging them -- taking advantage of this convention,” Kovaleski said.

“No, no, we're not taking advantage of this convention,” the attendant answered. “We just got very few spaces."

A few minutes earlier, the lot was asking $80 but had dropped its price to $60.

Under questioning, the attendant admitted that he didn’t feel good about charging so much to out-of-state visitors.

“Did you feel a little guilty saying 'eighty bucks?'” Kovaleski asked.

“Yes I did; of course I did. Of course I did,” the man said.

“And you brought the price down,” Kovaleski said.

“We brought it down, man, because it ain’t right. It just ain’t right,” he said. “We're a host city, so it's not right."

Others blamed their bosses.

“Forty dollars for a regular game, but my boss said today to charge $80 today," said another lot attendant on Federal Boulevard. "He's a bad guy."

Police around the area said it was a free market and the land owners could charge anything they wanted, though they were surprised at what the property owners were getting for a parking spot.

“These guys are charging like $80 bucks; can they do that?” a 7News producer asked with an undercover camera.

“It's sounds like robbery, but unfortunately they can do that,” one officer answered.

"Because they own it?” the producer asked.

“Yeah, capitalism at its finest,” the second officer said.