New tailgating rules clean up gameday

IOWA CITY - If any conclusion can be drawn after nearly a full season of new tailgating enforcement at the University of Iowa, it's this: Don't carry an open container on public streets or sidewalks, and make sure you find a portable bathroom when nature calls.

Since the UI implemented its “Think Before You Drink” initiative at the beginning of this football season, open container and public urination violations have accounted for 64 percent of the citations issued on game days.

The campaign came with a time limit on tailgating after the game, an emphasis on citing underage drinkers, adding vehicle safety checkpoints and zero tolerance for violations of Iowa City's open container law or for public urination.

Iowa City's open container law prohibits people from carrying open beer, wine and hard lemonade beverages on public sidewalks and roads. Fans are still allowed to have those items in UI parking lots and ramps as long as they are of legal drinking age.

After six home games so far, police have issued a total of 391 open container citations, or 13.5 per game. In the two previous seasons, police issued zero open container citations.

Similarly, 53 public urination citations have been issued this season, or 8.8 per game. In the two years before, a total of two public urination citations were handed out.

Chuck Green, director of UI Police, said he has been pleased with the results of the initiative this season, adding he believes fan behavior has improved.

“We've seen very good results from the overall campaign,” Green said. “We've seen a steady decrease in the issuing of citations from the first home game to the most recent.”

For the most part, Green's correct. After the first game of the season, police cited and arrested 160 people. After the most recent home game on Oct. 30, police cited and arrested 63 people.

Still, the numbers have jumped around.

The opening game against Eastern Illinois yielded the highest amount of citations at 160, but coming in at a close second was an Oct. 2 game against Penn State with 153. Comparing the numbers from Penn State game, which began at 7 p.m., to the Eastern Illinois game, which started at 11 a.m., isn't necessarily a good measuring stick, though.

The lowest number of the season came after Ball State came to town on Sept. 25. Only 36 people were cited, but the 11 a.m. kickoff and rainy weather may have contributed to the low number.

Before the season began, Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said he was worried about jail overcrowding on gamedays because of the increased enforcement.

So the UI tried a new cite-and-release method for public intoxication. If the person in custody could find a family member or friend to take them away safely, they would be released and could report to court at a later date.

It appears to have worked. So far this season there have been 53 people taken to jail on gamedays. In 2009, there were 127 and even more in 2008 at 138.

“I think it's a combination of things,” Green said. “I'm sure the cite-and-release method contributed to the numbers, but the fans have really stepped up to the plate and have been behaving better, which was what we were hoping for.”

After the opening game, UI officials were met with a slew of negative feedback, as angry fans voiced concerns about police being overzealous and the abnormally long waits in line at the Kinnick gates as security searched blankets, water bottles and bags.

Steve Droll, 55, who has been tailgating at the same location west of Kinnick for more than 15 years, said enforcement before the first game created a negative atmosphere that he had never experienced.

“Anytime an authority figure exerts influence on something that hasn't been there before, it will be perceived as too much force,” Droll said. “I didn't feel comfortable being over there, and I don't think that's right for any fan.”

After public feedback, UI officials promised to create a more fan-friendly environment and extended some post-game tailgating from two to three hours. Droll said that since then, the police presence has been less aggressive.

Green said after the first game, police clarified what to consider as dangerous activity.

“When looking in the lots for drinking games, we had to use better discretion as to whether people were consuming large amounts of alcohol and putting themselves in danger,” Green said.

Kathleen Renquist, who has lived two blocks south of Kinnick Stadium on Tower Court for 30 years, said the added enforcement this season has reduced poor, drunken behavior in her neighborhood.

“It's great to have the university stepping up to the plate and being proactive about enforcing these rules. It's just so much more enjoyable on gamedays now,” Renquist said. “It's a neighborhood again.”

Joe Wegman, 54, has been a Hawkeye tailgater since 1974. He said he supports the university's goal for safety, but he feels police have gone overboard.

“If the mission is safety, I support it 100 percent,” he said, “but this year, for the first time in all of the years I have been coming to games, I felt they crossed the line.”

Green stands by the enforcement efforts.

“When we can keep people from consuming on streets and sidewalks, there is a far larger and more sober crowd approaching the stadium,” he said. “All we're asking is people wait to get to their destination before they start drinking.”

The Data

Football Arrests