A lot of people are commenting on this news today:
More than 100 people were arrested during Sunday's San Diego Chargers game against the Chicago Bears at Qualcomm Stadium, and more than 250 others were ejected by San Diego police and stadium security personnel, said stadium officials.
Most of those ejected were removed for smoking, officials said. Most of the arrests were for drunkenness or fighting, said stadium spokesman Erik Stover.
Why is this worth talking about? Because 15 people were arrested in Pacific Beach and all of a sudden there's a supposed critical mass to ban alcohol on the beaches.
Qualcomm Stadium: Should we drop the drink? Photo: Google
Where's the press conference proposing a ban on drinking around Qualcomm Stadium? There is no press conference and no politician pushing it because tens of thousands of reasonable people visiting the stadium would be furious if they couldn't have a beer or two because of the punks who can't control themselves.
You all know I've been pretty interested in the brewing debate about the future of Fiesta Island. I don't understand why we need to spend so much money to change a place that so many enjoy as it is. The charm of Fiesta Island is that it is one of the few open spaces left in the urbanized world that is peculiarly welcoming to just about any use. It's a place for people with imaginations. We have to have a place to go where the activity isn't determined by the space -- where, in fact, all you need for your activity is space.
Anyway, thanks for indulging me. No matter how you feel about Fiesta Island, there's a big meeting of the Mission Bay Park Committee tonight at 6 p.m. at the Mission Bay Hilton.
Banning alcohol at Qualcomm is not a bad idea, actually.... But really, Scott, I think you're just yanking our chain. Charger game attendees pay to get in -- which makes Qualcomm a different venue from free public beaches and thus subject to more flexible application of rules. Nonetheless, the unpleasantness of forking over a bunch of money to watch grown men slam into each other must be amplified if fellow fans in the stands are drunk, smoking and fighting. So in last weekend's instance, authorities stepped in on behalf of the Charger organization, I presume, to eject the jerks, to keep the paying customers happy (and to keep those expensive beers flowing at the food stations.) Let's get rid of alcohol at the beach and Qualcomm, if you like, but definitely let's ban booze at the beach.
Scott, Qualcomm/Chargers is a business and make decisions accordingly. Let them sell alcohol or not according to their Income Statement. The public beach has no such immediate mechanism (don't kid us about voting and politicians), and the comparison is not relevant.
Qualcomm and the Chargers sell a fraction of the alcohol consumed in and around the stadium on gamedays. Nobody gets drunk on the overpriced beers the vendors sell. The heavy drinking is done in that massive parking lot -- a perfectly public space.
Lest we forget that Qualcom is city owned and this is using city police (I wonder how that reimubursemet gos?) time. What is good for the goose is good for gander. Maybe we should have a pay to drink section of the beach and all of that revenue can be used to pay down the City's Pension Liability.
......Charger game attendees pay to get in -- which makes Qualcomm a different venue from free public beaches and thus subject to more flexible application of rules...... and tell us Francines F, why would paying make the Q more subject to flexability of the application of rules?????????? This is just another goody two shoes that wants a double standard....one for her and one for everyone else. If alcohol is a problem, then it is a problem, plain and simple, but you dont get a double standard!
Have we forgotten the drunk who almost killed himself a couple of weeks ago at the Charger game when he did an "endo" inside one of the circular concrete walkways. Drunks at the Charger & Aztec football games are truly more of a problem than the drinking at the beach during three holidays of the year. Don't forget these fans get into their cars & RV's and drive home. If the City is truly concerned about public safety how about setting up DUI check points at all the exits from the stadium? The fines from just one season would erase the City's deficits and provide Mike Aguirre funding to prove that the SDCERS board was responsible for Kennedy's assasination.
The Fiesta Island planning process is a case of a city advisory committee with nothing better to do. They've hired a consultant to plan a hundred million dollars in "improvements" to the island, only to be told by the Mayor's office that the city doesn't have any money to spend making the "improvements" they're asking for,and won't for at least a decade. But paying somemone to draw up pretty pictures seems to keep them happy.
In the United States, football and beer is like eggnog and Christmas. However, beaches are assocated with swimming, family fun, surfing, tanning, volleyball and so on. In other words, it still can be enjoyable without the drinking. But I still don't think they should ban drinking from PB, MB and OB because of a few people who can't control themselves.
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Scott Lewis on Politics
The Scott Lewis on Politics blog, abbreviated cleverly as SLOP, is a collection of observations, insights and the occasional scoop on public affairs in San Diego. Please feel free to e-mail Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.
Listen to voiceofsandiego.org's radio program on AM 600 KOGO: Latest Episode (November 8): Scott Lewis and Michael Zucchet talk about the city's budget
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