Dodger Stadium: City Calls On Stadium To Curb Alcohol Sales, Increase Security

Story courtesy of the City Maven.

By Alice M. Walton

While approving a $50,000 reward today for information leading to the arrest of two men who taunted and beat a Giants fan in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium on opening day, members on the Los Angeles City Council called on the team and its management to step up security, curb alcohol sales and work to maintain a family-friendly environment.

“I don’t consider these thugs Dodger fans. These are people who take the opening day event – they go, they get drunk, party and then they viciously attack. They are in no way indicative of Dodger fans,” said Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

Councilman Jose Huizar, who has four young children, called on the Dodgers to review their security procedures and station more guards in the parking lots.

“As I often take my kids to the Dodger games, to think of the violence that I sometimes see in the parking lot, is just completely unacceptable. It’s not the type of values we want our children to see,” Huizar said.

As a police officer, Councilman Dennis Zine worked security at Raiders games when the team still played in the Coliseum. He expressed concern that the Dodgers would gain a similar reputation for violence.

“There would always be fights. There would always be hostility,” Zine said of the Raiders’ games. “You go to Dodger Stadium and it would always be a family atmosphere.”

Approval of the $50,000 brings the total reward amount to $100,000. Victim Bryan Stow, a paramedic and father of two, remains at USC Medical Center in critical but guarded condition.

Anyone with information about the beating was asked to contact detectives with the Northeast division at [phone].

Comments

[RobietheCat]

04:36 PM on 04/07/2011

This is same county and city that allows drug addled RAVES in the county owned Coliseum.

Can anyone tell me if any other major (or minor) city allows such a city sanctioned drug fest?

[RodneyMesriani]

01:06 AM on 04/07/2011

Any sports events will have worked-up fans, whether its baseball, football, or basketball. Alcohol is of course, a factor for hotter tempers but I think what should be prioritized after this tragic incident is additional security around the premises. McCourt & the Dodgers management was negligent in ensuring the safety of its clients/customers while in the Stadium -- and because of that, a man with 2 children is now in a coma. They should be held liable for damages because of inadequate security under the theory of premises liability because now more than ever, he and his family would need financial assistance in dealing with this senseless attack of violence.

http://www.mesrianilaw.com/Premises-Liability-Claim.html

[bart4u]

09:51 PM on 04/06/2011

Problem is you have a certain group of people who can not behave in our society and embarrass the city. You never saw this behavior at a ball park in the 60's. The owner of the team is hated in Los Angeles so that does not help. The team needs to cut beer sales and pay more for extra security. MLB should have never let McCourt buy the team. He did not have solid finances. He is unable to pay for extra security. Hope he sells the team soon. His wife I'd a piece of work too. They both used the team as their personal ATM machine and now they need a 200 million loan to keep the team running.

[dbrett480]

08:51 PM on 04/06/2011

The new plan for increased security should include probation and parole officers, ICE agents, and officers that specialize in gang enforcement. This should scare away the gang bangers that treat Dodgers stadium the same way they treat the jail that they frequently visit.

[Captain Ron]

09:37 PM on 04/06/2011

Agreed! F&F!

[Solstice1221]

06:23 PM on 04/06/2011

I wonder if there would have been more security if the McCourts weren't paying their sons six figure salaries for NOT working there?

[lipstickpig]

02:55 PM on 04/06/2011

I don't see how all these people get drunk-The price of beer is 10 bucks and it takes 2 innings in a long line to even get a beer.
Dodger stadium is a joke-The lines are too long- for food and beer-the parking is expensive and very disorganized-it should not take 45 minutes to get into the stadium or out after a game-
Where is the subway stop? where is the security after the games !
Hope they catch these hoodlums ! They are bad people-Young Males of course

[sonjasmom]

06:55 PM on 04/06/2011

Evidently Dodger Stadium opens the parking lot up hours before the games to allow you to have a tailgater and significantly raise your blood alcohol before you reach your seat.

[t vallejos]

06:00 PM on 04/11/2011

There is a strict no-tailgate rule at Dodger Stadium. And they only open 1.5 hrs before the game (because there's stuff going on at the stadium, like batting practice).

So, no. Wrong.

[Mr Bobo]

01:13 PM on 04/06/2011

The clock is ticking on "Joker" and "L'il Puppet". Someone's going to be the lucky recipient of the $100k reward and sporting a new ride.

[Chris Colburn]

01:00 PM on 04/06/2011

Blame the McCourt's, they are drowning in debt and are sacrificing security for profit. Don't blame Dodger fans, I go to many games a year and the overwhelming majority of fans are well behaved. The few rowdy trouble-makers stand out, not by appearance, but by behavior, and could be easily dealt with by a more effective security presence.

[Socrates2011]

12:40 PM on 04/06/2011

They've already taken all the fun out of Dodger's games, years ago, which is why many of us stopped going to the games. They outlawed tail-gating and bbqs (it was an epic venue for this stuff). They took away beer and alcohol in the "cheap seats." They herd the poor fans like cattle very aggressively while they're in the stadium. They don't even allow playful banter and heckling.

And everybody with experience in security knows that a crowd that is half-drunk is much more dangerous than a crowd that isn't tipsy at all, or one that is completely drunk. Cutting a person off from their chillaxation is bound to induce anger. Stopping beer sales in the 7th inning is dangerous, and promotes aggressive reactions, even if the desired purpose is to keep drunk people from driving off on the streets. I think they'd be much better off leaving people with their chill vibes and focusing their efforts in other areas.

What Dodger stadium needs is:
1) A strong show of presence by security in the parking lot after the game, this is always a calming factor.
2) To curb drunk driving, the police should set up drunk checks on the way out of the stadium...it won't take long for word to spread of the risk of DUI if one drives out of there drunk.
3) Identify trouble fans early, isolate them, and take them out of the picture.

[robodawa]

12:30 PM on 04/06/2011

Stop serving beer earlier in the game. Limit the number of ounces per container. Limit the number of containers a customer can take with them. Limit the sales windows for alcohol. (Place them at the other end of the park from rowdy fan areas) Don't serve high test beer.
(Or charge triple for it and put it in a smaller container). Put a deposit fee on the cans and cups. Use common sense social engineering. But baseball in summer without beer? NO.

[t vallejos]

06:04 PM on 04/11/2011

You already cannot buy beer at Dodger Stadium after the 7th inning. The "rowdy fan areas" (the outfield pavilions, aka: the cheap seats) do not sell alcohol--and those seats have zero access to any part of the stadium that does. And if you DO have access to alcohol, you can only purchase 2 beers at a time.

Dodger Stadium already has fair enough alcohol rules in place. This isn't about alcohol--it's about a dangerous culture of violence that city officials have done little to curb.

[t vallejos]

06:17 PM on 04/11/2011

Excuse me, I apologize for an error I made. Apparently, the alcohol ban in the outfield has since been lifted. That's perhaps unfortunate, although I still don't believe alcohol is the real issue here.

My bad!

[rightstroke]

12:10 PM on 04/06/2011

the mexican gang crowd is causing all the problems

[bart4u]

11:44 AM on 04/06/2011

The problem is these gang type fans that sit in the blue section or the bleachers. Best to just ban the selling of beer. At least the stadium would be safer. The embarrassed the city big time.

[Socrates2011]

12:44 PM on 04/06/2011

This is misguided. They'll get to a half-drunk state (either from drinking before the game or before the taps are cut off earlier in the game), then get angry that they can't get more. That's a sure way to cause a riot! When they walk out of the stadium it'll be like unleashing a pressure cooker on the parking lot...watch out!

I always prefer fully drunk idiots (who are rendered harmless by it) to half-drunk frustrated idiots.

The Mormons tried to keep people from getting sufficient alcohol during the SLC olympics in 2006, and there were many half-drunken riots with the same root cause.

[YourNewNeighbor]

11:27 AM on 04/06/2011

As an L.A. resident there is plenty to be embarrassed about, but this takes the cake. Delivering unlimted beer to drunken thugs at our ballpark, a ballpark with a glaring lack of security, is just about the most obn0xi0us situation I can think of.

Let's give our ballpark back to the children and the families who used to enjoy it, and let these brawling nlnc0mp0ops find someplace else to get their j0llies.

[christopherflynn]

11:34 AM on 04/06/2011

yeah...just don't send 'em north to San Jose...............

[RobietheCat]

04:41 PM on 04/07/2011

At this point it would seem too late.

Ironically, if they moved the Dodger Home Games to Arizona, the level of violence would go down.

ps/ the outrage that some people have of the level of profanity is amusing given that if most people even understood a minimal amount of spanish they would understand that these newcomers liberally use profanity in every day speech right in front of them. Too bad they also can't understand the insulting and condescending language directed at anyone who doesn't speak spanish.

[HardWorker1]

11:13 AM on 04/06/2011

What are the odds that these two cowards have already snuck across the border?

[Badwater]

11:17 AM on 04/06/2011

Could they get to Canada that fast?

[rightstroke]

12:11 PM on 04/06/2011

so funny. i highly doubt canadians would do this... they were hispanic.... stop being so pc

[RobietheCat]

04:42 PM on 04/07/2011

No, the Canadians generally stay home to inflict their own domestic violence on each other.