War On Tailgating Not Just At NC State
The traditions of tailgating outside of sports stadiums is increasingly coming under restriction at many venues.
A review of guidelines at several stadiums found that other NFL teams are moving their tailgaters farther away from stadiums or instituting stricter rules.
In Chicago, the Bears prohibit fans without tickets from being in stadium parking lots during the game. According to newspaper reports, that was done to discourage drunkenness and troublemakers.
Like the Cowboys, the Washington Redskins also announced they were moving tailgaters to the back of some of their lots.
Hans Steiniger, a Detroit resident who is documenting his tour of every NFL stadium at his Quest for 31 Web site, said tailgating is much less of a free-for-all than it once was. Teams and the league seem to be much more concerned about fire safety, security and cutting down on drunkenness.
Brett Daniels, a Cowboys spokesman, said the rule changes that started last year were designed to benefit everyone going to the games. He said locating the tailgaters at the edge of the parking lots gives them a grassy, landscaped setting for their parties and also separates them from the rest of the traffic.
Grassy knolls in Dallas aside, the NFL seems to generally be taking the policies that earned it the nickname of “No Fun League” outside of the stadium and into the unwashed masses — who either must be controlled or moneytized.
We’re quite familiar with that here at NC State, where tailgating came under restriction after two thugs cruised through the parking lots outside of Carter-Finley before a game, looking for trouble, where they found it — with people who weren’t even there to attend a football game. A fight, then gunfire and tragedy resulted. The incident became known as the “Tailgating Murders” even though the random crime had little to do with NC State football and its fans, instead, it was a horrible mix of people looking for a good time with ne’er-do-well drug dealers looking for a fight.
Answers were demanded in the aftermath, and committees and study panels formed with elite University bureaucrats were convened, all with little input from students, the Wolfpack Club or season ticket holders. On top of that, UNC raconteur Bob Lee Swagger labeled the student parking areas as “F-Bomb Alley” thanks to their verbal mistreatment of visiting fans — which the University wisely located adjacent to the area widely used by students for parking. “Something had to be done,” and as a result, the university instituted a Punish-The-Innocent program that “enhanced” security by limiting everyone. Instead of enforcing laws or rules already on the books, or increasing the number of police and security officials patrolling the crowds, programs like “WITH” were enacted along with other restrictions, most notably in the hours that one can spend tailgating.
While many folks don’t tailgate for more than five hours outside of a college football game, many like to do exactly that in order to have ample time to prepare elaborate meals like a pig-picking with all the fixin’s. Folks like that are not there to cause a fight, or even to drink to excess, they are only there to celebrate NC State’s playing a football game with all of their friends. Now it looks like NC State was simply ahead of the curve and that other facilities and sports teams are doing the same.
I am torn on the tailgating. I am not sure many are aware but there was incident in 2005 where a guy set off a bomb right outside an Oklahoma game. The line between fun and saefty is blurred. The institution does nothing and they would get raked over the coals if something happened, yet doing something upsets our customers. Where is the line?
it’s usually established by the insurance companies. That’s certainly the case at a lot of stadiums.
The rules and locations aren’t dictated out of a desire to restrict fun, but simply to avoid getting sued and losing.
Noah, I can assure you that is not because of insurance with NCSU. I have a very detailed knowledge of the State’s insurance. (which would scare anyone who is a NC taxpayer)
As for the NFL, who knows I am sure there would have to be a split of responsibility between the team and the city.
next step…having your ticket be your “contract”.
if something happens, and you sue, you go to university
sanctioned arbitration instead of court. also, look for
more security cameras. my advice, bring your own.
vid cameras are cheap. as the saying goes:
“if you don’t have a picture (vid), it didn’t happen.”
I do understand the liability issues, but tailgating has become such an integral part of live football that I believe further restrictions will negatively impact ticket sales and ultimately revenue.
Maybe we’re abnormal but I don’t see how I could get my wife to a game sans tailgate.
We have Panthers tickets, UVa tickets, and a son playing HS football. All are basically tailgate driven for her and her friends. For example since I’m a State alum and fan I have UVa tickets only because of kids going there. We pay an extra pretty good bit of change to have the “priority” for a decent parking pass. Doubtful we would even get the tickets if we didn’t get the tailgate spot. It is damn rare that my wife ever enters the stadium and frankly not being a huge Wahoos fan, I generally don’t go in until halftime and leave early to head back to the party. And we are not alone. The parking lots there stay pretty lively while the game is going on.
Even my son’s high school team is selling 65 “special” parking places inside the gate this year at $150 each for tailgating and parking for 5 home games.
Heck without the tailgate how many would just stay home and watch the game (or something else) on TV? Sexist perhaps, but how many wives are kept from bitching about the cost of football ticket packages because they enjoy the tailgate party and all that goes with it? Count mine as one!
When I lived in Raleigh I would probably have attended the games with or without good tailgating. I live 3 hrs away now and I would not dream of making the trip without a good tailgating experience to look forward to.
As a general rule, if teams want people to travel any significant distance for a game, they better make the product on the field incredible or make the experience around the game top notch. One is a helluva lot easier to do than the other.
The area where the shooting occurred was part of the fairgrounds parking. For some time, it was possible to park in there for free during Hurricanes games and BBall games. After the shooting, they began to cordon off that area, although they didn’t do it consistently. During the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, they charged for parking over there.
The RBC/Hurricanes management has never liked tailgating. They want you to purchase their exorbitantly priced pre-cooked concessions. I doubt it’s just the cigar chomping, gravel-throated hockey barons. I imagine the same is true of Carter Finley. The burgers taste like they were made hours earlier. Every time somebody climbs through the seats with their BBQ or something from “Sausage Slop”, the smell nauseates me.
The SEC sees your F-bomb alley and raises you a beer pong tournament.
Could we argue the NC State is cutting edge with regard to this policy?
The way I see it, I pay $100+ for that spot, plus another $300/ticket for seaon tickets, and another good chunk in annual dues. If I want to go out there and tailgate for 3 days I should be able to do so! By the time you get there, cook for an hour, eat, and then pack up to get into the game, you have about an hour to do anything, which makes walking around and talking to friends a bit difficult.
I am fine with enforcing the rules in place, but at this stage in my life, it takes to long to recover from “tying one on”, and besides, I think we’re gonna be pretty good – I actually want to be coherent and remember the game. LOL
(removed)
Count me as one who thinks the university is taking the easy way out, and as a result is risking the loyalty of (and continued purchases by) their “customers”.
Public intoxication is already illegal. So is assault (with or without a deadly weapon) and setting off a bomb. I suspect that any untoward behavior that a drunk and unruly fan can conceive is already illegal. But its easier and CHEAPER to enact new rules that restrict everyone’s good time rather than hire the necessary personnel to enforce the rules/laws that are already in place.
Totally unrelated, by PR just signed a 6-year, $92 million extension with the Bolts.
Wow packpowerfan – I’m sure your parents are proud. Before dropping the F bombs on visiting fans and their children did you ever stop to consider that maybe the fairgrounds parking is the only place available to them? Or at least the only place available to them that they know about? Or that they’re lost and just trying to find the stadium?
You, and those like you, make me embarrassed to be a State fan.
Here’s a novel idea – how about you cheer FOR our team and forget about the fans from the visiting teams?
+1 for Pack84.
I never explicitly said I curse at anyone. I could lie and say that I have a pristine mouth, but I don’t, and I do my best to keep my swearing to a minimum. I, however, don’t curse at visiting fans. I will throw out “boos” rather heartily though, especially at fans who are more than willing to throw them out as they walk through. Like I said, there is a difference between a family walking through, and obvious students from other schools just riling fans up. I like the stigma of Carter-Finley being a rowdy place to play, and I believe it was a few years ago that a few players from Clemson mentioned how “frightening” it was to play here. This starts with our tailgating. Without the atmosphere in the parking lot, the student section isn’t as spirited; and without the student section, the stadium doesn’t hit its peak. I’m a 21-year old senior enjoying my time as a student, and that is it. I am no instigator, attacker, or assailant.
I’m pretty proud of F-bomb alley. I’m a student, and a hooligan
Thanks for helping give all State fans a bad name because you are an a$$ and you don’t care who knows it. It’s idiots like you that give the administration plenty of reasons to restrict tailgating for everyone.
Before everyone jumps on my tail about my post, I’m NOT yelling derogatory things, and I’m NOT “condoning” any kind of outlandish behavior. I regret using hooligan, since apparently I’m persona non grata now. I have a good time, and I’m glad that we have a student body that does. Have I done anything that would cause the administration to levy any penalties? Absolutely not.
Folks, it seems I put up a post that was completely misunderstood, and that’s all my fault. I tailgate like a normal student, no better and no worse. Think back to your days in the parking lot, and that’s pretty much as tame or as wild as I’ve been out there.
No it was completely understood. (I hope you don’t trip and fall while you’re backpedaling.) I see that you deleted the comments in an attempt to hide your stupidity from everyone else. Please take note at the universal disapproval of your comments from those that saw them. This is a site for intelligent adults. Please stay away until you qualify on both counts.
One last remark…..The bad parents are not the ones that have the misfortune to wander close to your group. The bad parents are the ones that did such a poor job of raising you.
VaWolf,
That post was of my own accord, and if you’re going to grill me, that’s deserved. This, however, has nothing to do with my parents. I’d appreciate if you’d direct your comments to/at me, and leave them out of this.
^The reason for the 5 hour restriction is people who think/act like you.
You know, I’d be happy right now if the WPC takes the initiative to have the fire ant-infested Trinity Lot mowed to below knee-level this season.
The university’s heavy-handed response would not exactly be unexpected.
However, it did nothing to eliminate the root cause of the behavior. A decent police prescence would have prevented the shooting – it was the classic case of the university being slow to react and whistling through the graveyard. Tailgating became not just NC State student thing, but something enjoyed by thousands of people not going to the game. In today’s society, that was pretty a much a recipe for disaster.
The message that is screamed from the ivory tower isn’t “be responsible, don’t embarass this university. ” Rather, it’s – do whatever damage you can do in 5 hours and if you don’t watch it, we’ll cut it back further.
Like I said before, NC State does not practice risk management, they practice risk avoidance.
There seems to be a complete lack of upper level managers at the university that know operations from the ground up because if there were then you would see a hands on approach in dealing with problems (a few additional police, a pr campaign of some sort, university events in the surrounding area, etc) Instead we see a big ol’ disconnect, students/alums evolve to deal with a university misstep then as they (students/alums) fashion out a new model, all because the university is AVOIDING RISK, some new problem arises, as they always do, and the university is caught flat footed.
They do not knowingly treat the fans bad, this is simply the NCSU culture and it has been on going for as long as I can recall. Where are the students/alum going to go? They will root for State regardless so at the end of the day nobody is leaving, its a built in LTR mentality. No university anywhere treats the fans worse, period.
McCallum