Field of Screams: With Luck, It Won’t Show Who Was on 1st

If grass could sing, “See me, feel me, touch me” are lyrics that the tenants of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium--the Chargers, Padres and Aztecs--wish could be reserved only for them.

But in a publicly owned stadium, the sports teams have to share. And Tuesday night, the field was reserved for the legendary British band The Who, whose last visit to San Diego marked the beginning of an unofficial six-year ban on rock concerts at the stadium.

On that night in 1983, the field lay exposed to thousands of rowdy fans, who danced and pranced on its tender grass. Afterward, Don Coryell, then the coach of the Chargers, said it was the worst playing field he had seen in several decades of coaching.

The ’83 show was also a security nightmare. Dozens of people were arrested and dozens more taken to hospitals with major and minor injuries.

Tuesday night much had changed, although the San Diego Police Department reported more than 50 arrests, mostly for drunk-and-disorderly conduct. Paramedics and nurses working the first-aid stations said it was actually a slow night for them, in contrast to the turmoil of both The Who’s ’83 show and an appearance by the Rolling Stones in 1981. (By 10:15 p.m., only four people had been taken to hospitals--with minor injuries.)

And the key factor--did the city make money or not?--may have been revealed at the gate. A spokeswoman for The Who, who asked not to be quoted by name, said that by 9 p.m., the crowd was “somewhere between 42,000 and 43,000.”

Stadium manager Bill Wilson said Tuesday that the only reason rock is worth the risk is because of the large payoff it brings the city. The Stones show, which drew more than 70,000 fans, is said to have netted more than $250,000.

“For this one, we’re hoping for a net between $150,000 and $225,000,” Wilson said.

To protect the field, a high-tech “geotextile” material was laid down before the show. (The baseball infield was kept off limits from the crowd.) The 8,400 seats on the field were sold only on a reserved basis, and police officers confined the feet of each potential dancer to the top of his seat.

For the Stones’ ‘81 show and The Who’s ’83 show, Wilson said, as many as 20,000 people were allowed on the field in what is known as “festival seating.” He said the only way rock will be allowed at the stadium in the future, by mandate of the Stadium Authority Board, is with “no festival seating.”

Even so, the geotextile material had been stripped away in some places Tuesday night, and cigarette butts and other debris was ground into the turf.

Jack Teele, director of administration for the Chargers, said Tuesday he is “concerned” about the field, despite the precautions.

“We’ll just have to take a wait-and-see attitude,” he said. “We’ve got nine games to play on that field. Our whole schedule is in front of us, so we hope it isn’t damaged. We hope it’s in good shape for the rest of the season, but, at this point, it’s only hope. Our lease agreement assures us of a field in top condition, so we expect it to be in top condition.”

Wilson said he expects only “slight discoloration” on the field and mostly in the area near the scoreboard, where the stage was set up. He said he hopes that rock can continue at the stadium, because it brings money the city “can ill afford” to pass up.

Daphne Falletti, 26, an engineer for an aerospace firm, said she agreed with Wilson. She said the six-year suspension of stadium rock--that is, big-band rock that allowed seating on the field--was too long and was partly a reflection of San Diego’s “provincialism.”

“It looks like everybody prepared for it well,” she said. “The music is great, the crowd is great, and I think everyone here would be willing to bear the added cost of having to fit the stadium with protective measures like this covering on the field. I know I wouldn’t mind.”

Not everyone was thrilled with Tuesday’s show. Several dozen people were offering up an obscene chant outside a ticket window shortly before lead singer Roger Daltrey took the stage.

Travis Hock, 19, of Oceanside said he and his friends had bought seats on the field only to find when they reported to their section--Section 40--that it did not exist. They were offered seats in the stadium’s upper level, but not together.

“91X (XTRA-FM, the radio station promoting the concert) really screwed this thing up,” Hock said. “We pay all this money for tickets, and then have this happen.”