Tougher rules aim to improve fans’ tailgating experience

By Gary Barta and Chuck Green

As the 2010 Hawkeye football season fast approaches, we're all looking forward to making our way to Kinnick Stadium to cheer on the team, celebrate with friends and family and get caught up in the excitement and fanfare of game day in Iowa City.

We want game day to be a positive, family-friendly experience for everyone, whether or not your celebration involves alcohol. In fact, most fans have a great time, look out for one another and drink safely, responsibly and legally. To that group we say, “Thank you.”

Unfortunately, each year a minority of fans who consume alcohol are under age, drink outside of designated areas, drink to excess or engage in

unsafe and unruly behavior, vandalism and worse. To help combat this problem, The University of Iowa is launching “Think Before You Drink: Before the Game. During the Game. After the Game.”

Think Before You Drink is a campaign involving a wide range of university offices, community leaders and law enforcement agencies working together in an attempt to make Hawkeye tailgating even better. Fans who break these rules risk citations, ejection from games and loss of season tickets and parking privileges. Planned measures include:

l Iowa City's open container ordinance will be strictly enforced. It prohibits people from carrying open beer, wine and “hard” lemonades on public sidewalks and roads.

l Consumption of alcoholic beverages in UI parking lots and ramps will be allowed for only one hour after each game and all tailgating activities must end two hours after the game. No after-game consumption of alcohol for the Oct. 2 night game against Penn State.

l After a game, police will emphasize impaired driving enforcement, which may involve vehicle safety checkpoints, increased road patrols, and OWI enforcement teams.

l Police will have no tolerance for anyone urinating in public.

l Season ticket customers are responsible for the actions of fans to whom they give or sell their game tickets. Two offenses (for PAULA, public intoxication or an open bar) by their guests/customers in the same season may result in the loss of the original ticket buyer's ability to purchase season tickets and parking privileges.

University of Iowa Police plan to issue a postgame news release containing the arrest log to remind fans of the campaign's goals.

This effort is part of a broad, ongoing, collaborative effort by the UI and our community partners to reduce harmful drinking, particularly among students, by providing activities, educational resources and support. We know it will take time and a mix of incentives - as well as disincentives - to change the culture of harmful drinking in Iowa City.

Tailgating is a special part of the college football tradition. The Hawkeye tailgate tradition is among the best. But those who don't, or won't, abide by the rules governing alcohol use must know that they risk serious consequences for their actions and behavior.

Gary Barta is University of Iowa director of athletics; Chuck Green is UI assistant vice president and director of public safety. Comments:

gary-barta@uiowa.edu and charles-green@uiowa.edu