Stadium Board Limits Beer Kegs in Parking Lot : Alcohol: Another dry idea may be even tougher for some to swallow--a proposal for a total ban on parking lot drinking.

In the wake of numerous complaints about public drunkenness at football games involving San Diego State University, the Stadium Authority Board voted Thursday to ban beer kegs from the parking lot unless students hire a caterer and obtain a permit.

And, in a move that members of the board admitted may spark controversy, they agreed to pass on to the City Council the idea of a total alcohol ban in the parking lot during all events at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“If there is a problem (with consumption of alcohol), I would certainly believe the council would take the reasonable action,” said Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt, who attended Thursday’s meeting as the liaison between the Stadium Authority Board and the City Council.

“The stadium doesn’t function for partying,” Bernhardt added. “It’s designed for special events and sports, and wasn’t designated Party Town. I think it’s reasonable to ask people to limit their intake of alcohol.”

But Bernhardt said she does not yet have “sufficient background information” about the problems posed by alcohol at the stadium and asked the board to prepare a report for council consideration at its July 23 meeting.

The City Council recently banned alcohol at La Jolla Shores and a small park in North Park for six months beginning Aug. 1.

Last year, the authority board considered a ban on smoking at the stadium, which, when voted upon, resulted only in a sign being displayed on the scoreboard before stadium events.

The sign reads: “If you smoke, please be courteous to your neighbors.”

Thursday, stadium officials alluded to an incident during last year’s game between SDSU and UCLA in San Diego, in which many students were arrested for public intoxication. During that game, an SDSU student suffered a broken neck during an altercation with security guards.

Before Thursday’s action takes effect, Bernhardt said, the council will have to amend the city’s municipal code to accommodate the restriction pertaining to the use of kegs in the parking lot before Aztec football games.

That amendment was sought by Jim Herrick, associate athletics director at SDSU, and by Service America Corp., the stadium’s concessionaire.

“Our feeling is, there’s been too much abuse of alcohol, and we need to take steps to try to curtail it,” Herrick said. “Because of drinking in the parking lot, we’re now at risk inside the stadium as well.”

Herrick said security guards have had difficulty policing sections in which scores of inebriated students--”many of whom are drunk before they enter the stadium”--are creating “a nightmare.” But Herrick said he had mixed feelings in regard to a total ban on alcohol in the stadium parking lot.

“As an associate athletics director, I’m in favor of the parking-lot ban,” he said. “But as a fan and a regular spectator at many stadium events, I hesitate to say that I want it to go completely. It’s the old 10% rule--10% of the people are ruining everything for the 90% who come to the games and behave responsibly.”

Officials said Thursday that San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium is now among a handful of major-league baseball arenas that even permit alcohol in the parking lot. But Bill Wilson, stadium manager, said San Diego is one of the places in the country where pre- and post-game “tailgate” parties, featuring food and drink, are a “cherished” tradition.

“I’m not sure the total ban would fly here--I’m dead certain that it will be controversial--but the truth is, San Diego would simply be following the national trend,” said SDSU’s Herrick. “And, I think it’s a healthy trend. People across the board are starting to exercise their rights and say, ‘We’re tired of being offended at public sporting events.’ People are tired of putting up with some of the stuff they’ve had to put up with.”

Herrick pointed out that SDSU students may still buy beer inside the stadium--provided they’re old enough to do so--and, without a permit, can “enjoy beer in the parking lot by drinking it from cans.”

But he noted that UCLA had recently banned the sale of alcohol during its home games at the Rose Bowl, and that more schools are taking “the dry approach.”

A spokeswoman for the Rose Bowl said Thursday that alcohol had been banned from the Rose Bowl parking lot for years, because it is situated on public parkland. She said the ban on alcohol inside the stadium would take effect with the start of the football season.

At least one stadium tenant objected to even the hint of a beer ban in San Diego, in the parking lot or elsewhere.

“We’re in favor of the permits for kegs during SDSU games, but no, we’re not in favor of totally banning alcohol during tailgate parties,” said Pat Curran, business manager for the San Diego Chargers. “I don’t think we should have that kind of control for what people do on their own.

“Once they get in the stadium, we do have control, but outside, I’d say it’s their business. Besides, the Police Department would have its hands full” enforcing the ban.

Stadium Manager Wilson said that, in the future, SDSU students wanting a keg for pregame beer bashes will have to obtain a permit through a licensed caterer. And then, Wilson said, the beer may only be given away. The sale of any beer in the parking lot would, he said, violate state alcohol regulations.

He said the students would also have to obtain a $1-million insurance liability policy absolving the stadium, the city or SDSU from any responsibility should someone be injured in connection with beer being consumed in the parking lot before a game.

As for the total ban on alcohol in the parking lot, Wilson said, “I don’t think its time has come. I know that San Diego has one of the few stadiums that advocate tailgating, but San Diego and tailgating are almost synonymous.

“This is a party town, and, usually, we have nice, clear, warm weather. But, ultimately, the concern for human safety is going to outweigh this party feeling. I think it has to.”