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In-Depth

Nurturing and enforcing good fan behavior

Earlier this year, on June 16, an unprecedented summit was held in Los Angeles, bringing together the management of the area’s sports facilities and tenants. The subject? Fan behavior at sporting events. Those present reviewed issues and shared ideas for controlling the actions of their crowds.

Fan behavior must be at the forefront of the thought process of all sports teams, venues and events. Even if you believe your fans’ experience is “good,” specific measures still need to be instituted to ensure a continued fan-friendly environment.

In 2006, when I was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the San Diego Chargers, the team implemented a program called “Game Day, The Right Way.” Not only was it the means to reinforce a code of conduct in Qualcomm Stadium and its parking lots, but it was the impetus to establish penalties that violators would face. Over the next four years, more than 800 season-ticket-holder seats were canceled because of actions of the holder themselves or someone who had used those tickets.

Many teams, venues and events have taken proactive stances in the enhancement of the fan experience and the enforcement of a venue code of conduct. Policies need to be posted and visible — on team and venue websites, on entry gates, and throughout the building via in-stadium signage, such as the rest rooms. Secret shoppers should be used to report to management on the adherence and enforcement by staff of policies.

Some important steps toward ensuring a safe, positive fan experience include:

Parking lot conduct

Security command posts must be staffed prior to parking lot openings and maintained until the last car leaves the parking lot. Lots should be patrolled and tickets issued to violators. The potential for requiring directed parking, in enforcing the encroachment of tailgating on multiple parking spots, must seriously be considered.

Pre-selling of parking lot privileges, with a higher, game-day cost, can assist, especially when coupled with the threat of

Parking lots should be patrolled and efforts be made to limit drinking games that could lead to intoxicated and problematic fans.
Photo by: Getty Images
cancellation if procedures are violated. The University of Utah has pre-sold party sites on grassy areas and in parking lots for tailgating. The University of Oregon pre-sells specific locations to its fans.

The Rose Bowl and UCLA have implemented a guideline for tailgating and ensured adequate space for every tailgater, even sacrificing some parking revenue.

Venues must insist that group parties pre-register, assume accountability and possibly pay for supplemental security.
Private, beyond-the-stadium caterers also must be pre-permitted, and assume responsibility for their activities.

Minimize noise. Limit drinking games. Restrict glass bottles. Require trash pickup and recycling. Facilities need to pick up during the pre-event activities.

Video board communication

Transmit venue rules, both inside and outside the venue, throughout game day, even if it intrudes on marketing sales efforts.

Recently, I attended the Miami Dolphins-New York Jets game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and I was impressed by the way the team and venue utilize outside video screens to promote policies to fans attending events. I believe it helped set a positive, fan-friendly tone for the entire evening.

Transmit messages about the code of conduct in an interesting fashion, enlisting players, coaches, alumni and cheerleaders. Extra focus must be placed on high congestion areas, such as mass transit access points, especially at the end of games. Using outside video boards helps meliorate tension.

Alcohol consumption

Typically, alcohol issues start before fans pass through the venue gates. Security, and alcohol management teams, must observe those potentially intoxicated fans as they enter, and depending upon the venue rules, either keep them from getting inside the building or keep tabs on them throughout the game. All staff need to be TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) trained, including the crowd management staff.

Examine the points of sale and the length of lines or congestion points to avoid confrontations. Cutoff times for serving alcohol must be posted and enforced consistently throughout the venue using non-concessionaire staff to supervise.
On the exit, if possible, DUI checkpoints and/or saturation patrols should be utilized.

The role of the fans

Empower fans to be the eyes and ears of your security force. Many venues promote the “See Something, Say Something” campaign, as I observed recently at the Cleveland Browns-San Francisco 49ers game. Put a texting system in place, inside and outside the venue, so fans can communicate their observations, problems and complaints. Coupled with this, venues must upgrade Wi-Fi access throughout the property, including the parking lots.

Language abuse is a violation of most codes of conduct and must be enforced. In addition, there is no doubt, the prevalence of wearing team colors, home and away, has had an effect on fan conduct, but antagonizing apparel needs to be prohibited from venues. A visiting fan often marks himself or herself for abuse by donning team-specific apparel, and venues must be sensitive to those people. Fans take pride in wearing their favorite teams’ jerseys to games, but that isn’t always a smart decision. As a Boston Red Sox fan who lived in New York for more than 25 years, I knew exactly what to wear — or rather, what NOT to wear — when I attended Yankees-Red Sox games at Yankee Stadium.

The teams’ responsibility

Within 72 hours after an event, teams must review all incidents. Notifications of violations, as well as the actions taken against violators, must occur quickly, and may include immediate suspension of rights, inability to participate in postseason ticket sales, and cancellation for subsequent seasons. I know many teams fear immediate revocation because tickets have been resold, but that is a problem of the seller if they cannot control their ticket users.

In addition, when a fan is found in violation, his or her seat should be marked for subsequent games (yellow carded), so the other fans can see the team and venue have taken action for something they most likely witnessed. The original ticket holder must be held accountable for actions of recipients of their tickets. Consideration may be given to publicizing violators and season-ticket cancellations.

Also, as noted in SportsBusiness Journal in the Oct. 24-30 edition, the secondary ticket market is getting more use. The entities need to hold their accounts responsible and suspend those who have violated codes of conduct from that venue, if not all area venues.

Time to act

One final step is that all venues in a region need to come together and adopt universal policies, an easy across-venue and team texting code and, for violators, a ban from all venues.

The ramifications of inaction or lack of proactivity in this area may not be seen immediately, but will be seen in the future. Fans are concerned about the environment in which they take their children — the fans of the future — and why they left the comfort of their homes.

Jim Steeg , director of the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, is former executive vice president and chief operating officer of the San Diego Chargers, former senior vice president of special events for the NFL, and consults with organizations on operations, structure and business development.

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