Council Draws the Line on Tailgate Parties at Stadium

In another effort to clear sidewalks and keep rowdy revelers from blocking walkways, the City Council voted Tuesday to ban tailgate parties from the promenades in the inner circle of San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium’s parking lot.

Under the new regulation, no tables, barbecues, chairs, umbrellas or other objects can be set up on the eight finger-walkways leading to the stadium.

But the action doesn’t spell doom for die-hard tailgate revelers who will be allowed to continue their activities farther from the stadium or in a special designated area behind barriers.

“The trouble is sidewalks were made for people to walk on,” said Bill Wilson, stadium manager. “We’re not stopping tailgating--we’re making other areas available. . .This will irritate people who are used to camping there. But we like tailgaters. . . . We like responsible tailgaters.”

The tradition of tailgate parties is strong in San Diego, and Jack Murphy Stadium is one of a handful in major-league baseball parks that still permit alcohol in the parking lot.

Before and after games, parties have crowded walkways, setting up barbecues as revelers belt down drinks.

About 10% of the total crowd that shows up for a baseball game indulges in tailgate partying, Wilson estimated. Among football fans, the trend is even stronger, at roughly 20%.

But, in recent years, the revelers have become increasingly territorial, roping off walkways to set up their own personal party yard--a move that pushes pedestrians into the streets.

Although the new regulation does not officially take effect for 30 days, Wilson said the stadium would start enforcing it immediately as house policy. In February, Jack Murphy Stadium officials asked the City Council to enact the new ban.

In a 6-2 vote, with Council members Judy McCarty and Ron Roberts in opposition and Mayor Maureen O’Connor absent, the City Council approved the new regulation, its second recent action aimed at curbing rowdiness at Jack Murphy Stadium.

Last August, the City Council ruled that fans must hold a caterer’s permit if they intend to serve beer in the parking lot. Under that ordinance, tailgaters must purchase a $25 caterer’s permit and provide $1 million in liability insurance.

Stadium officials believed the ordinance would cut back on blacktop drinking--a goal after a 1989 game between SDSU and UCLA in which many students were arrested for public intoxication. During that game, a San Diego State University student’s neck was broken in a fight with security guards.