Candlestick’s Sober Section Draws Cheers From Families

The no-booze, no-smoking seating zone at Candlestick Park is a big hit with families trying to escape the crude atmosphere of the anything-goes seating section.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Dennis Helsey, who sat with his 7-year-old son, Josh, and his 11-year-old daughter, Dawn.

“When I bring my wife and other child, the price climbs above $100. These seats are affordable, the kids aren’t subjected to the cursing and fighting, and the view is better than I expected,” Helsey said.

Giants officials have decided to experiment with the 2,400-seat family section to see whether the fans like it enough to make it a permanent fixture. The first trial came during Tuesday’s game with the Mets.

Tickets for the seats in the section cost $5, half the price of a lower-deck box seat.

Giants President Al Rosen decided to try out the no-booze seats after numerous fist fights broke out during a doubleheader with the Dodgers at Candlestick on July 26.

The section is also smoke-free because, “If you’re going to go clean, you might as well go all the way,” said team spokeswoman Robin Carr.

Twelve other major league teams have no-booze sections.

The only negative sentiments toward the new section at Candlestick came from Martin Fitzpatrick and Robert Clark, two men visiting the San Francisco Bay area on business.

They said they bought their tickets in the parking lot, unaware of the restrictions that went along with the seats.

When an usher politely told Fitzpatrick to extinguish his cigarette, the businessman said, “You can’t drink, you can’t cuss, you can’t raise no hell--what’s going on around here?”

Added his friend Clark, a New Yorker, “I think it’s a good idea for people to have a place to bring their kids where there won’t be no trouble. But I’m getting the hell out of here and go have a beer.”