Two Football Stadiums Call a Timeout : Curbing those rowdy, sometimes violent, fans who ruin it for everybody

The brutal beating last month of a Pittsburgh Steeler fan who paid dearly for his “crime” of walking among cheering Raider fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has prompted commendable responses at the stadiums where the area’s two professional football teams play.

Last Sunday, Los Angeles Ram fans in Anaheim found themselves getting less beer for the buck as the size of drinks sold at concession stands was reduced in an attempt to curb fan violence. Trying to keep fans sober should not provide the opportunity for the house to profit, but it was clear from a second new policy that the Rams really were trying to keep the stadium safe for all. Beginning Oct. 21 at the next Rams’ home game, the parking lot will open at 11 a.m. instead of the regular 10 a.m., providing tailgaters with 60 fewer minutes to get sloshed before entering the stadium.

Then this past week, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the site of the pummeling of Steeler fan Paul Albrecht, instituted its own new restrictions.

They included: beefed-up stadium security, a one-game ban at Sunday’s Raider game on any alcohol sales and severe restrictions on the sale of beer during subsequent Raider and USC contests played at the stadium. During those ensuing games, beer-container sizes will be reduced from 20 ounces to 16 ounces, and the alcohol content of beer will be decreased from 3.6% to 3.2%. Also, vendors will be forced to quit selling beer after halftime, instead of after the third quarter, as has been the case in the past.

Also, Spectacor, manager of the Coliseum, intends to allocate 25 cents from each $3.75 spent on the 16-ounce containers to a program to teach Coliseum staff how to handle fans who have had too much to drink.

That’s all to the good. Of course, having a drink at the game and hoisting a beer during the tailgate party before it are part and parcel of the culture of American football. And there’s bound to be a fine line between game sponsors becoming killjoys and having them simply insist on sensible consumption in an attempt to curb rowdiness.

Let’s not be naive. People determined to get drunk at football games will not be stopped by these new regulations. Fans have been importing flasks and arriving at games intoxicated ever since Walter Camp first picked his college All-Americans. But these rules do send a vital message from the house that should make the game more enjoyable and safer for everyone.