Xtreme to Crack Down on Crowds

Crowd behavior Saturday night at the Coliseum was too extreme for the Xtreme.

There were no reported injuries or arrests during the Los Angeles Xtreme’s first XFL home game, but fights and inappropriate behavior in the stands are a concern to the team.

A statement issued Monday read: “The Xtreme will proactively go after a solution to this problem. We will absolutely not tolerate this kind of behavior, and our No. 1 priority is to solve the problem where our fans and season-ticket holders can come to the game and just have a good time.”

USC officials, who believe the Coliseum is only now recovering from the damage done to its image by Raider fans, are also concerned about the Xtreme’s home crowds.

Meanwhile, the Xtreme is also trying to figure out how three bikini-clad strippers ended up in a hot tub behind the east end zone.

The problems in the stands started in the third quarter when a Chicago Enforcer player, tackle Bishop Octavious, suffered a broken leg. As Octavious was being attended to, the crowd grew restless.

A couple of fistfights broke out, then a few fans began throwing beer, popcorn and other objects. One fan below the press box on the south side just stood there as he was pelted, and seemed to enjoy the attention.

“It took 20 minutes to get the injured player off the field and there was too much down time,” Pat Lynch, Coliseum general manager, said Monday. “What was needed was some music and replays, things to keep the excitement level up.

“This is a new league and has things to learn. They learned a lot from what happened Saturday night.”

The Xtreme plans to announce a get-tough policy today.

Steps to be taken include:

* Beefing up stadium security.

* A zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior. Season-ticket holders who break the zero-tolerance policy will lose their tickets.

* In conjunction with the Coliseum, cutting off beer sales in the third quarter, or maybe earlier.

The get-tough policy may be paradoxical for a league that is run by World Wrestling Federation founder Vince McMahon.

“I’ve been to WWF events, and this kind of stuff doesn’t happen there,” Xtreme General Manger J.K. McKay said.

But what about having three strippers from the Spearmint Rhino club sitting in a hot tub?

“We had nothing to do with that,” McKay said. “I had no idea who they were or who hired them. I know we didn’t pay them.”

The Xtreme hired an independent contractor, Olympvs International, to set up a beach scene, complete with hot tub, sand, lifeguard stand and silk-screen mural.

McKay said the team is looking into who hired the strippers.

The crowd was made up of people of all ages, not only young fans drinking too much beer. Dodger Spanish-language announcer Jamie Jarrin took his three grandsons, Andrew, Phillip and Estefan, and said except for problems in the stands, they enjoyed the experience.

The House of Blues sponsored a corporate suite at the peristyle end, and House of Blues General Manager Arich Berghammer said everything in the suite was quiet and orderly.

USC, which also plays at the Coliseum, is keeping a close eye on the Xtreme’s crowds.

USC sports information director Tim Tessalone said: “When the Raiders were at the Coliseum, the perception was that every event there involved a rowdy crowd and wasn’t safe. But that’s not the case at USC games.

“USC games over the years have provided a collegiate, fun, safe environment.

“We are the Coliseum’s oldest tenant, and I think people who come to a USC game enjoy a great family experience. They feel safe, and will continue to feel safe.

“We rarely have any kind of tawdriness in the stands. The Coliseum is a fun place for our fans from the time they tailgate to the end of the game.”

Said the Coliseum’s Lynch: “When there is down time at a USC game, the band plays, replays and highlights are shown on the big screen, the crowd is kept occupied.”

Lynch also said a quote--”It was no more rowdy than a USC game”--attributed to him about Saturday’s crowd was inaccurate.

A team spokesman passed that along to media at the game. The spokesman said Monday that it was a miscommunication error on his part, that Lynch had simply cracked a joke about a rowdy USC game and it was misinterpreted.

Saturday night’s game did fairly well on television, drawing a 6.7 rating in Los Angeles with a 12 share on Channel 4.