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STAR-BULLETIN / NOVEMBER 2002 Fans taunted Cincinnati players who were leaving the field at Aloha Stadium on Nov. 23, 2002, after a University of Hawaii game ended with a brawl on the field.

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Aloha means
goodbye
-- to booze?

The Stadium Authority will host
a discussion tomorrow about a ban

An unlikely brew of politicians, educators, business people, students and sports fans is expected to overflow from the Aloha Stadium hospitality room tomorrow as the issue of banning alcohol sales at University of Hawaii football games comes to a head.

Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona is leading an initiative to stop drinking at the stadium before and during UH football games because of fighting and rowdy behavior, and under-age consumption.

Aiona and others will testify on the pros and cons at the Stadium Authority's monthly meeting. It starts at 10 a.m.

"It's not really a public hearing, but we will let anyone who wants to talk, talk and it will go however long it takes," stadium spokesman Patrick Leonard said. "The board anticipates it will last several hours. We want people to voice their opinions whether they are for or against. We're setting up tons of seating."

Aiona wants the ban to begin with UH's season-opening game Sept. 3 against the University of Southern California. Others say it's not practical because of contracts the stadium has with concessionaires and other legal issues.

A private company is contracted by the stadium to provide beer for sale through 2011.

UH interim president David McClain said he supports the proposed ban in a joint news conference with Aiona earlier this month. McClain is expected to attend tomorrow's meeting.

"The president believes drinking is an issue at Aloha Stadium and as he publicly stated he would like to see us go the way of many other universities with a ban. Ultimately, it's not the university's call," UH spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka said.

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STAR-BULLETIN PHOTO / FEBRUARY 2002 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DAVE SWANN / DSWANN@STARBULLETIN.COM

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Meanwhile, ASUH president Grant Teichman said he has spoken with McClain and been in contact with Stadium Authority member Nelson Oyadamori after the student senate passed a resolution Aug. 9 protesting the initiative.

"(Oyadamori) e-mailed me and asked for testimony," Teichman said. "I'll be there. The biggest problem is nearly 50 percent of (Manoa) undergrads are 21. A lot of them asked us to get involved. Our stance is part of the educational experience is learning to be responsible adults."

The ASUH had also planned a nonalcohol "tailgate" at Bachman Lawn at 2 p.m. today to show support for continued alcohol sales and consumption at UH games.

Tamah-Lani Noh is the state drug control liaison. She will also testify, in favor of a ban.

Noh said 88 percent of colleges that play sports don't allow alcoholic beverages at games.

"We need to change attitudes. Our expectation is not that it be resolved (tomorrow), but to bring people together and address an issue," Noh said. "Do we think we can solve it all in one day? I can't say."

Chad Hoffmeister, the vice president and general manager of Anheuser Busch Sales of Hawaii, plans to testify against the proposal.

"It's too much of a drastic measure, especially this quick. They should conduct a study to see if it would be effective," Hoffmeister said. "At Colorado State they enacted a ban and found it was much harder for police to enforce. People were showing up more intoxicated and they felt they lost control of the environment."

The Colorado State ban was repealed, Hoffmeister said.

"A very small amount of people are creating problems (at Aloha Stadium). No company wants to see its product abused. We're going to talk about programs for consuming responsibly," Hoffmeister said.

Honolulu police officials said methods to enforce a ban would depend on how fans behave during the first game of the ban.

Stadium officials usually hire 68 special-duty officers to provide police presence in the parking lot and inside the stadium during every UH football game, according to an HPD spokesperson. Right now, Aloha Stadium officials have hired an additional 37 special-duty Honolulu police officers to handle pregame traffic, but have not hired more officers to staff the USC game itself.

"If they institute a ban, we'll take a look at what happens," Deputy Chief Paul Putzulu said. "We'd expect a majority of the public would adhere to the regulations. We'll have to see how the fans react."

Putzulu said if there is a ban, officers who observe people drinking alcohol could warn them or even arrest them for trespassing if they decide not to comply with the rules. But he said whether HPD could specifically arrest people for drinking publicly is still unclear.

"If they ban it we have to go back to our law to see if it would still apply to the stadium," he said. "The law states you can't be on public roadways, and areas like that, drinking. We'd have to see if the stadium parking lot and the stadium itself becomes a public area."

While Aiona and others are for a complete ban of drinking in the stadium and parking lots, McClain has said a parking lot ban might not be practical.

McClain has also said he is willing to discuss giving up $200,000 of annual revenue from alcohol-related advertising, especially if the stadium can give UH a lower annual rent fee.

McClain said alcohol sales at basketball, volleyball and baseball games at the on-campus Stan Sheriff Center and Les Murakami Stadium have not caused problems.