Everybody Wants a Piece of ‘The Rock’

Alcatraz Island, for decades an isolated prison outpost that men risked their lives to escape, has once again emerged as this city’s breakout summer tourist destination, with frenzied crowds clamoring for tickets that are in increasingly short supply.

Thanks largely to Hollywood convict yarns, most recently the 1995 film “The Rock,” featuring Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage, Alcatraz’s allure is stronger than ever.

That has prompted an ongoing legal war over who gets to market tickets to what has become an international tourist mecca.

Two small tour operators have sued Blue & Gold Fleet, which holds an exclusive contract with the National Park Service to ferry visitors and dispense tickets to Alcatraz. The small operators claim the big fleet has created an unfair monopoly, making itself rich by favoring larger tour companies with tickets in return for kickback business.

Blue & Gold denies the allegations. “There’s just no merit to any of it,” said company President Ron Duckhorn.

Park Service to Review Situation

Nevertheless, the plaintiffs and a competing Fisherman’s Wharf ferry service have complained to park officials that Blue & Gold’s stranglehold is driving them out of business. That has prompted the scalping of Alcatraz tickets for often five times their face value.

“Nobody wins here--not tourists, not small tour outfits or other bay fleets,” said Jeff Sears, owner of A American tours, which filed the suit.

“Nobody wins but Blue & Gold and those few companies it favors.”

The dispute has become so heated that the park service has promised to review the matter. The state attorney general’s office is also investigating.

In a city blessed with scores of scenic attractions, the tiny island known as The Rock by such convicts as Al “Scarface” Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly and “Birdman of Alcatraz” Robert Stroud has kidnapped public attention, far overshadowing other tourist draws.

Even though the famous prison closed in 1963, when it was deemed too costly to run, Alcatraz Island now makes the park service millions annually through tourists who enjoy the macabre experience of walking through the old cellblocks.

“If people can’t get a ticket to Alcatraz, they want to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge,” joked Anthea McGoldrick, vice president for marketing at Gray Line Tours. “We’ve had whole families literally in tears because they’ve missed their boat to Alcatraz.

“The demand is so great, if you miss one you can’t get another boat. The frenzy overshadows even the Golden Gate Bridge and the cable cars.”

In an effort to protect the 22-acre island from being literally trampled by tourists, the park service has limited visitors to 4,200 a day during the summer.

Three years ago, park officials granted Blue & Gold the exclusive right to distribute tickets to the public and to nearly a dozen tour operators serving Alcatraz.

The park service contract allows Blue & Gold to sell 1,800 of its 4,200 daily tickets to tour operators. The rest are snapped up by tourists at a Fisherman’s Wharf walk-up window or through individual telephone orders.

Companies book up to six months in advance for the summer season because Blue & Gold must dispense the scarce tickets to tour operators on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the contract.

But the lawsuit claims the ferry fleet is doing anything but that.

Blue & Gold gives favorable treatment to large tour companies in the number of tickets and choice time slots, and in return, Blue & Gold demands that tour companies book its ferries exclusively for its bay cruise business, the suit alleges.

Blue & Gold refused tickets to Sears and another small tour operator, according to the lawsuit. Boat company officials claim that Sears advertised Alcatraz tickets on the back of his pedicabs proclaiming, “Get on the Rock!” but often gouged tourists when tickets were in short supply. Sears denies the claim.

“They’re squeezing some hard-working small tour operators out of a very lucrative market,” said lawyer Andy Cohn, who represents A American.

Tom Escher, owner of the competing Red & White Fleet, has written a letter of complaint to the park service.

“Blue & Gold has told big tour operators considering using our fleet that if they didn’t give them all their bay cruise business, they could just forget about Alcatraz tickets,” he said.

‘Something Is Definitely Not Right’

Park officials say they’re reviewing the claims.

“When you have excess demand against supply, it creates a situation that brings out the worst of the entrepreneurial spirit,” said Brian O’Neill, general superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. “I can’t fault someone for trying to find a way to do business, but we have to make sure there is equity in the way tickets are being handed out. We don’t want tourists to be the losers here.”

Doug and Susie Dahms feel like losers being held prisoner by Alcatraz Island. The couple were turned away from the ticket booth for same-day tickets costing $8.75, told they would either have to wait two days to take the trip, or buy a tour package including Alcatraz costing $48 or more.

They decided to wait two days to see Alcatraz “without any cheesy bus ride around the city.”

“If you want to go to one place, you should be able to--not be carted all over town just to get to Alcatraz,” Susie Dahms said. “Something is definitely not right here.”

Even after tour operators settle their squabbles, demand for Alcatraz tickets will remain high. And O’Neill has some advice for those looking to inhabit their piece of The Rock any time soon:

Buy tickets in advance.

“I’m not dumb enough to go to New York and try to see a Broadway play without buying tickets in advance,” he said. “Well, the same rule definitely applies here.”