DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Interesting Article on Fans/Security at CBS

This is a very long article, so I am not posting all of it. It kinda goes in-depth about the security in/around CBS, the Cleveland PD on gameday, and some of the problems that happen during games and in the tailgating lots and why a lo of people no longer want to go to games. You can read the article in it's entirety here

1999-2008 arrests and ejections
at Cleveland Browns Stadium

1999: 50 arrests/109 ejections
2000: 37/60
2001: 50/75
2002: 56/187
2003: 45/138
2004: 66/195
2005: 86/308
2006: 61/181
2007*: 112/728
2008**: 113/384
Totals: 676/2,365
* -- major increase reflects stadium security staff instructed to arrest or eject fans instead of issuing warnings first.
** -- as of Dec. 1.
Source: Cleveland Browns

A season ticket-holder since 1973, 54-year-old Jon Lief of Shaker Heights said he's seriously considering not renewing next season, and the decision has nothing to do with the team's 4-10 record. It's the foul language, the drunks and the fact that he only feels comfortable taking his 11-year-old son to the more tame preseason games.

He doesn't blame Browns security, which he believes responds quickly.

"It's not their fault," Lief said, "but how do you handle 70,000 people?"

With an army, that's how, and camera eyes all around.

The Browns hire Tenable Protective Services, which employs about 100 off-duty officers, including undercover officers dressed as "Every Fan," to police a venue with a population the size of Lorain.

In addition, 220 ushers carry pagers to dispatch police, housekeeping, medical staff or a supervisor. A blue-jacketed team of 75 roving security staff known as the "Dawg Squad" roams the stadium to respond as needed. And the building is equipped with 80 cameras, inside and out.

Security detail for a 1 p.m. kickoff begins even before bomb-sniffing dogs sweep the field, locker rooms and even Gatorade jugs at around 8 a.m. and doesn't end until hours after the stadium has emptied.

In such a dismal season, the home portion of which ends against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, season ticket-holders are more inclined to give their seats away or just stay home. That can mean a house more populated with frustrated fans and football amateurs more intent on partying than following the action on the field.

"I don't know what kind of crowd we're going to get," Cleveland Police Commander Thomas McCartney said, addressing a roomful of officers and the Dawg Squad at roll call hours before the Indianapolis game. "When the record gets like this, you just don't know."

McCartney advised officers to be aware of an area in a 500 section, where problems had surfaced in previous games. Intoxicated fans were to be arrested, not ejected, unless they were with a sober friend or relative to drive them home.

"We're not here to debate anybody," supervising Lt. Holmes Gordon told the group. "They're gone."

Through the first seven regular-season games and two preseason games, 384 fans have been ejected and 113 have been arrested, according to the team. Since the Browns returned in 1999, 2,365 fans have been tossed and another 676 booked.

The number of arrests and ejections more than tripled in 2007 from 2006, when it was decided security staff didn't have to warn misbehaving fans, but could arrest or eject them immediately.

The Browns send letters to those arrested or ejected, telling them they've been put on notice and that their season tickets could be revoked. Season ticket-holders are held responsible for whoever sits in their seats. Seventy-five to 100 letters go out each week.

"There are people who come here just to get out of control. They're looking for a big party," Merletti said. "Those are the people that we're focusing on."

The visibly intoxicated are supposed to be stopped at the gates, where fans are patted down and checked for bottles, weapons and other contraband before proceeding past Dawg Squad members, ticket-takers and vendors hawking $7 beers.
The Browns are responsible for policing in and immediately around the stadium, but not the popular tailgating areas, including the Municipal Lot on South Marginal Road along the Shoreway. About 10,000 fans tailgate there before, during and after each game.

Much of the NFL's fan behavior problem is blamed on excessive pregame drinking, driven, at least partly, by the price of alcohol once inside the gates.

"I think it stems from four hours in the parking lots," said Bob Laskowski, director of fan services for the Chicago Bears. "For some, it's their one day to just let loose."

Cities such as Chicago, which works closely with the Bears to keep order, and Seattle, where city council is engaged in game-day security, are considered among the most aggressive in dealing with public intoxication and underage drinking.

In Chicago, for instance, fans can drink in the parking lots, but not outside them. Police patrol popular pregame areas on foot, horseback, four-wheelers and Segways, writing open-container citations that carry up to a $500 fine.

The city of Cleveland took a hardy swipe at the problem in 2002. Former Mayor Jane Campbell took office after Browns fans had embarrassed the organization and the city by showering the field with bottles over a referee's controversial call.
Campbell said the Browns approached the Cleveland Police, who came to her about what could be done to rein in out-of-control pregame activity in the Muni Lot. Some fans were walking on the Shoreway or urinating in public. The city decided to enforce existing open-container laws.

"Once they did that, lo and behold, people behaved," Campbell said.

But the crackdown angered many tailgaters, and, although Campbell said tougher enforcement continued through her term, others recall that the effort sent a message but was later toned down.

This August, following Goodell's edict, Merletti and Carl Meyer, another ex-Secret Service agent who serves as the Browns' vice president for security and operations, met with Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask about securing the Muni Lot. Signs were posted to encourage responsible behavior, and it was assured police would continue to patrol the lot.

Cleveland Police usually staff 14 officers, plus a lieutenant and sergeant in charge and a prisoner van, at the Muni Lot. More officers are on duty for rival games and night games, where some fans start partying 12 hours before kickoff.

Police statistics on game-day arrests, tickets and incidents in the Muni Lot for each of the last five years were incomplete. So it's difficult to gauge how vigilant the city actually is in addressing problems there.

"I used to think tailgating was team spirit," said Lief, the long-time season ticket-holder. "But now I think it's an excuse to get bombed on a Sunday."

I don't disagree.

A few bad apples are ruining it for the masses.

The best thing the city could do would be to not open the lots until 9AM for tailgating activities.....or....4 hours.

Before that, the use of grills and open containers shouldn't be allowed...3 hours allows enough time to do what you want to do....and this is from a person who has been in the lot way sooner than 4 hours before kick-off.

I have already seen changes take place in the muni...and think we can expect to see more to come....I saw where GoCouch got ticketed for driving around the lot.

A few things I would consider in addition to limiting the time the lots are opened..

* No tossing of footballs with-in 25 feet of a parked car

* No charcoal grills....gas only

* No deep fryers.....charcoal and grease stay hot and dangerous long after people are tending to the cooking..and create mess someone has to clean up

* I would allow responsible drinking, but would target drinking game activites. Those aren't the social sipping of a brew, they are intended to get people hammered.

* I know this wouldn't be popular, but I would have lot crews flagging people and showing them where to park...start filling it up from front to back..this eliminates cars driving around in a crowded space....saving spots...stuff like that.

That move alone would change the entire culture in the Muni Lot...they do that in many places I have been....you park where they tell you to park....just like Disneyland.

With that said..time to head out and make the drive north for one last game and one last visit to the Muni for the season.

Thanks for the article 337. Interesting read that displays one of the reasons my attendance has tailed off.


Good reply peen.

The "good old days" are going away. So did I..................

I'd rather have the great memories of what was, than to play the PC game. Which it is becoming more and more. It's never really been the same since they built the new stadium.

But honestly Peen, if all of those rules were to be implemented? I'd surely never come for another game. It ain't baseball.

JMHO

It's a shame at the expense that must be taken all for just those who can not handle their beer.

JC

I don't know why people feel it's OK to get completely trashed for a sporting event. You wouldn't do that at your sons high school game, or daughters cheerleading competition, etc.

It is still a public place, and the basic rules of common courtesy, manners, and self responsibility should apply.

Wouldn't it be cheaper to stay home and get trashed like cheap wino?

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But honestly Peen, if all of those rules were to be implemented? I'd surely never come for another game. It ain't baseball.

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Just out of curiosity.. why not? Which of those rules can't you live with?

I wonder what would happen if the entire NFL stopped serving beer at all NFL games?

It would be an interesting experiment to try for a period of 3 years.

I can honestly say it wouldn't affect me.. I like to have a few at a game but if I couldn't, I'd still go to the game.

It's not the same as it used to be. And while I'm still proud of Browns fans...this year has made me scratch my head a bit.

Whenever I get in town to catch a game, I drink very little. Enough to loosen up or ward off the cold...but I like to pay attention and have crisp memories. I sink enough into this team...I should have clarity when I watch them.

So what you are saying is that you aren't totally opposed to some new rules, just maybe not all of the ones Peen is proposing?

What if they opened the lot at 6:00 am but had a no open container rule until say 9:30? To try to keep people from being stupid drunk before lunch time....

The no football within 25 feet of a vehicle.. I don't see how that can be enforced. From my tailgating experience generally if guys are tossing a football and you ask them to be careful, they generally are... anyway, that's why we take my Expedition to tailgate and not the wifes Bentley....

Cooking with gas only.. is that really a problem? Are people dumping their coals on the lot or in the grass or something? If they are, I would think this could be solved some other way that making everybody switch to gas.

Anybody that knows me on here knows I'm not a big fan of too many rules.. but in this case the options seem to be:

1. Keep it like it is and have a bunch of drunk obnoxious idiots ruin it for everybody in the stadium..
2. Enact a few common sense rules that try to mitigate some of the problems without ruining it for everybody.. or
3. Keep pushing it until the crack down with rules that really do suck and ruin it for everybody...

So I think a few rules and some strict enforcement of those rules might keep it from going so far that there is a backlash....

Charcoal vs Gas- People have commonly dumped their coals in the lot making a mess. That, as well as safety reasons, is why they have rules against open fires and charcoal grills. If you stay in the lot until after everyone has left, you will see piles of trash, piles of coals, broken glass, containers filled with urine. I have only been to one game in the last 2 years, but have attended MANY games in the 6 years prior to that....and I know at DTI everyone always prided themselves on keeping the site clean and the conduct orderly. The end of the lot closest to the stadium, by the parking garage, was often deemed the "bad" end of the lot due to the colossal mess that was left there.

OPEN CONTAINER- Not allowing open containers until 0930??? When did they start allowing them ever? They "overlooked" them for quite a while, and then went to the "don't see/don't know" policy where if you drank out of a cup and not a beer can or bottle it was "okay." If people are there, they are going to drink, as part of the gameday/tailgating experience. Putting up signs/saying there are rules against it won't do a thing.

FOOTBALL TOSSING- Not a big deal at all IMO. Can't even comment further on this because it would be ludicrous to try and do away with this.

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As it is with everything "some rules and regulations" are needed so things don't run ammuck. But it seems in our society there is no moderation. It seems to be all or nothing.

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It has nothing to do with our society, it has everything to do with people who consistently flaunt/violate norms creating hardships on others who are doing the right thing. It has NOTHING to do with being PC or any crap like that.....it has everything to do with acting like a responsible human being while out in public.

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I am there by 6 am but I wait till 8 am before I crack my first beer anymore, and as much as I enjoy drinking I don't think anybody I have meet there can remember me being trashed or out of control either before or during the game.

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The issues at hand do not lie with Pit, or you or I.......

I know they are the fault of the idiots who are drunk and fighting, puking, denting cars with their footballs, leaving their mess all over the parking lot (broken beer bottles, cans, garbage of all kinds) everywhere except in the garbage can or in a garbage bag in their trunk and their seem to be more of those people every year

The issues at hand do not lie with Pit, or you or I...

While this is most probably true the fact of the matter is that the Muni is full of drunks. Some games are worse than others but the Lot always looks like a trash pit after a game. And if it's a bad loss (hell, aren't they all, lately?) it looks like a Kansas trailer park in April after a twister.

All the guys on here say they come mostly for the socializing. I'd like to see that put to a test. Ban alcohol entirely in the Lot with heavy enforcement/arrests for the first couple of games. That will show who's a fan out to have a good time and who's just a borderline alcoholic, IMO. My guess is the crowd (in the Muni) thins out considerably without the aid of alcohol to fuel their fun. It'll never happen but it sure would be interesting.

You could also cut down on the rowdiness in the parking lot by lowering the price of beer in the Stadium. They may lose some money at first but if you bring a beer down from $7 to say, $3 I bet eventually the profits climb back up. And you'd certainly have more people inside the Stadium earlier and out of the parking areas getting hammered.

I did find the part about security stopping people coming in if they were drunk to be hilarious. The first game this year the guy that sat on my left spent the first 3 quarters passed out in his seat. And only a blind man would not have been able to tell he was drunk form the time he entered the Stadium. To top it off, when he finally woke up, he and his buddy (who actually watched the game) headed off to find a beer. I didn't have the heart to tell them that beer sales had already stopped. Hell, he may have thought it was still the 1st quarter.....

If somebody can please tell me whether there are more drunks at the new stadium than there were at the old stadium?

I have a take on this, and have discussed it with a lot of the guys I work with.

The dynamic has changed down there. Instead of grown men and women attending the games, you have a bunch of twenty something frat boys & girls who wanna go down there and put on a show.
The NFL and Cleveland Browns have made it impossible for families to have season tickets. - When you have a wife and kid(s) the thousands of dollars required for season tickets are obviously better spent elsewhere.

Good take...

j/c

Alcohol is a mind altering drug regardless of where one drinks it...at home or at a football game. It's hard for stadium and team owners to complain about the fans when the alcohol is doing exactly what it is supposed to do...altering the fans thinking process.

Alcohol is a depressant which alters the function of the brain and can make some angry while others will be happy. But add the fact that your watching a sporting event that you care about and the table is set for a drunk who is upset and angry.

You have heard it said before, there is nothing worse than being around a bunch of drunks if your sober. Maybe the NFL should consider the fans who are not drinking beer at their sporting events.

I doubt we ever see the NFL think of anything but $$$$, but hey, who knows. What the NFL should not do is complain about their drunk fans actions.

I am a season ticket holder in the upper dawg pound. This year has not had as many fights. A few years ago it was more action in the stands then on the field. Also, I have noticed that this year there was not as many visitor fans. We will have to see if that changes next year. I wonder if some of those numbers were due to smoking. I knew some people that got kicked out for smoking in bathrooms and even in the stands. I have been tailgating in the pit the last 7 years things have changed in there since they got new owners.They jacked up the prices up to 25 and they pack you in there. It was a lot different even 4 years ago. If you have a couple of cars you have to drive down there together or you will not be together. It has seem to me that the pit has not been as rowdy as it use to be. Not sure if this is due to not as many visitor fans or not. Drinking in the lot still seems the same.......... Just my thoughts....

When I went to the Giants game I didn't drink at all---but thats probably because I was really high on drugs.

I bet your parents are so proud of you!


I messed up my entire life because I got high
I lost my kids and wife because I got high
now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why
- cause I got high [repeat 3X]

Afroman!!

I would rather see people STOP drinking once they get into the stadium since I know many of them will be driving home. That way they have time to sober up before they leave

Yeah, if that actually happened that would be an excellent idea. However, what is much more likely is that they just slow down because the beer is $7. Just enough of the expensive stuff to keep the buzz, ya know. And then they still drive home drunk. Or damn close to it.

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OPEN CONTAINER- Not allowing open containers until 0930??? When did they start allowing them ever?

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When the Browns left in 1995 I was a senior in high school and at that time we (my family) weren't into tailgating. When they came back in 99, I had just gotten out and was in college. I started going to the games with friends and tailgating has always been a huge part of our experience. I used to love getting down there at 7:00am b/c I was there for the whole gameday experience. Meaning I wanted to spend as much time as possible living, breathing browns football. Around that time I found the orig dawgtalk and started reading about where everyone tailgated and started hanging out there and I met people of all ages that I had a real good time with. The things I have seen and that have happened to me down there I no longer care to get down there and spend all my day in the lot b/c the people in there has changed a lot. Now people have the misconception that it's mardi gras, a free-for-all drunkfest where you can do what you wanted. I am only 31 and have been thru college parties that ended in riot police and tear gas, and destruction and fighting with people is old and stupid. The one Browns/Steelers game I was pelted with bottles and had beer dumped on me and the girls (steeler fans) I was walking with b/c they were terrified to walk alone. This kinda crap shouldn't be tolerated regardless of what team you root for. I have seen cars with Steeler stuff, Bengal stuff, have windows busted and dented by idiots. I am sure you have morons everywhere but they seem to be out in force a lot more recently here. I have had to stay behind to wait for late arrivals and a ton of people aren't even going to the game, but just go to get hammered. And yes after the games it is a mess b/c it goes back to the "do what you want" attitude. "Let the bums have the cans. Let the criminals clean it up, who cares?" (community service)

I love tailgating don't get me wrong, and I have met a lot of great people from here and elsewhere that I now talk to a lot thru the year b/c of it. I will continue to tailgate every home game. But in that time I also know it's not a place I want to take my daughters unless it's the Island and that is it. When they are a little older I will never hesitate to take them to a game b/c of the language or behavior in the stands. It is my responsibility to tell her what to expect and my job as a parent to point out that it is wrong to talk or behave like that,,not the Browns. I remember Muni when I was younger and Browns games have always been like that. it's not baseball, it's not basketball, football is a violent sport and a very passionate sport that only comes to your town 8-10 times a year. people get more worked up over it and you ave to be ready for it. With 70,000 people you are going to have some drunks and people that can't behave.

I think it's a crying shame that people have to be told how behave, it seems society has forgotten, that we are responsible for our own actions, but instead people try to point fingers and blame someone or something else for thier woes......just freaking sad.

My buddies went to the Browns-Bears game in '02. They said they haven't ever seen anything like that in Cleveland. To them, Bears fans are much, much, rowdier and crazier than anything we have in Cleveland.

I don't think a ticket entitles anyone to behave in an antisocial manner, but I am struck by the blatant hypocrisy of the NFL when it comes to alcohol and bad behavior at their games. The $7 beers sold in the stadiums are a cash cow for the league. They try to temper it by ending sales after the 3rd quarter, but by then a "fan" may well have been drinking steadily for 6+ hours if they took part in the time-honored, NFL-sanctioned-and-encouraged activity: tailgating. Tune in to the networks on any given Sunday, Monday Night, Thursday night, and you will see commercials for beer nearly every break in the action. During the game, when the camera pans the stands, does it settle on the father and son wearing their team gear? No, it picks out the face-painting, mask-wearing, fright-wigged, bare-chested-in-sub-freezing-weather ... freaks ... always mugging for the camera, always acting-out, always mistakenly thinking they are a part of the game, instead of being mere spectators at a game. The NFL encourages this behavior, but seems surprised when it goes just a little further and crosses the line into aggression towards other fans.

None of this excuses fans behaving like punks ... doing and saying things they would otherwise never even think of doing ... but the NFL is not blameless. It is the chief enabler and architect of the freak-fan, IMO.