Anaheim Arena Clips Wings of Early Birds

On opening night of the circus earlier this week, Faye Mauceri and her three grandchildren heeded the advice of Anaheim Arena officials and arrived in plenty of time to beat the traffic.

But when she laid a towel over the trunk of her car and set up a couple of chairs to have a picnic in the parking lot before the arena doors opened, a security guard told her she had to move the feast inside her car.

“We’re told to show up early, but once we’re there, we have to wait in our cars,” Mauceri said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Mauceri and other patrons are frustrated over a policy that appears to be at odds with requests from arena officials that people arrive early to ease the chronic parking problem that bedevils the arena.

Arena sales and marketing manager John J. Nicoletti admits the policy might seem restrictive, but said it is enforced for the guests’ safety and to avoid congestion in the parking lots.

“What we want to do is keep people moving through the parking lot and if the tailgate situation hinders that traffic flow, it’s a problem,” he said.

Under the policy, people must stay within their designated parking stall. They can’t barbecue, have alcohol, spread blankets or set up chairs and tables outside that stall. Basically, all they can do is eat sandwiches and stand around, or sit in, their cars.

Just down the road at Anaheim Stadium, tailgate parties are allowed at designated areas in the parking lot. Greg Smith, general manager of Anaheim Stadium, said people can have gas barbecues and set up dining tables and chairs if they want. Only alcohol and charcoal grills are prohibited.

“We like to see tailgate parties and people having a good time,” Smith said.

But Nicoletti said the main difference between the stadium and the arena is space. He said arena officials are trying to be accommodating to people who want to picnic, but there is limited area for such activities. The arena’s main parking lot is long and narrow, where cars line up in double rows.

“The stadium has the luxury of having a larger parking lot than we do,” Nicoletti said.

Indeed, parking space at the arena is in short supply.

Even before the arena opened on June 19, officials advised people to arrive early because traffic and parking could be a hassle.

The arena’s five lots hold only 4,500 cars--one space for every four spectators at a sold-out event--so it was expected that the lots would quickly fill. Overflow traffic must be diverted to Anaheim Stadium, a quarter-mile away.

An environmental impact report written in 1989 warned that the arena would have only 75% of the spaces it should have. But because the arena is hemmed in by the Santa Ana River, the Orange Freeway, Katella Avenue and a mobile home park, there was no room for more spaces.

During the first week the arena was open, many drivers failed to arrive early. Almost everyone, it seemed, timed their arrival 30 minutes before show time. Families told horror stories of being stuck in their cars just outside the arena gates for up to 90 minutes and missing the start of events.

Arena officials repeated their admonitions that crowds arrive early, and traffic flow has improved significantly at recent events, in part because people are arriving earlier.

“But what’s the use?” asked Mauceri, who was upset over her experience Tuesday night. “You end up sitting in the car either way.”

Arena General Manager Brad Mayne said the policy on tailgate parties has been in effect since opening day and arena officials have not received any complaints. “I think (Mauceri’s complaint) is just an isolated incident,” he said. “But if it turns out to be problem, we’ll take action to correct it.”

Mayne said tailgate parties are a phenomenon usually associated with football games, which normally are afternoon events that draw large crowds.

Most arena events are held at night, including the Mighty Ducks hockey games that will begin in October. Mayne also said fewer people will want to hold tailgate parties as the weather gets colder and the days grow shorter. Furthermore, Mayne said, the arena parking lots are usually opened only 90 minutes before an event, leaving little time to picnic.

But at a recent country music concert, tailgate parties seemed to be popular and security appeared to be lax in its enforcement of the policy. Mayne acknowledged that parties were going on before the concert, but said his staff was “trying to be lenient” as long as safety and parking flow were not impacted.

Mayne said that although there are no designated picnic areas, people could gather on the plaza near the arena entrance.

“The sidewalk is better than the asphalt anyway,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nicoletti suggested there are alternatives to tailgating.

“The patrons are encouraged to look at the artwork outside the building,” he said. Also, they could tour the inside of the marble-laden arena.

“There’s other things to do,” Nicoletti said.