Effect of gate closures
(Written by kencraw)
TrumanHugh brings up in the comment section the issue of safety and the gate closure in a comment thread and I wanted to comment on it. His point is that with the gates closed, we have a safety issue in an emergency evacuation sitation. With fewer gates, people are going to be stuck inside while people funnel through the smaller number of gates. While I very much appreciate the concern he has, I’ve never felt like in an emergency that the gates would be the bottleneck. It’s the concourse tunnels. Or said another way, at the end of the game, the only point where I’m waiting in line to get out is the tunnel entry point, not the gates. The same was true on Saturday even with the closed gates. Add in Jason’s comment that in an emergency the evacuation plan is to go down to the field and when it is safe move up the eastern side of the stadium and out (that’s an important reminder for everyone btw), and I’m not too concerned about the safety issue.
So I still think the gate closures are a monumental inconvenience that stinks but the right way to handle things. The more I think about it, ignoring the protestors until the court case is settled is the way to go and the only reason to even put up the fence is because nobody needs excrement dumped on their heads from the trees (which from my understanding has happened to a handful of cops over the last 9 months).
But I will say this about the gate closure: If those gates are not re-opened by the Oregon St. game, there better be a VERY good reason. The case goes to trial just before the Arizona game and nobody expects a decision before the game. There is then a 3 week break before the next home game because of a road game in Oregon and a bye week. The expectation is that the judge will rule before the Oregon game so the University should have two full weeks to get the situation settled.
And this means either way. If we win, those tree-sitters better be removed and trees better be cut down. For a good ticket holder PR move, they could make a big pile of the wood with a sign: “Free fire wood for any Cal Bear ticket holder… thank you for your patience through the gate closures”. They’ve got two weeks and there is no excuse to wait. If we lose, well the tree-sitters should leave because “they’ve won” and if they don’t, this is no longer “free speech”, it’s simple trespassing because there is no issue to protest about.
So, the way I see it, we only have to put up with this for two more games (unexpected legal maneuvering aside). I also think it’s going to go more smoothly for those two games both because fans will be adjusting their routes to get to the more open gates and the University will be using some games they usually don’t (this is the part that killed me on Saturday, there were gates that could be used that they didn’t initally use because they usually don’t. How much brains does it take to say “Hey, we’re closing a bunch of gates, why don’t we use the ones we usually keep locked?”). They even figured this out mid-ordeal Saturday as I saw at least one that was opened after I arrived.
Let’s just do our best to be cooperative and patient while the University works through this difficult issue.
September 3rd, 2007 at 9:48 am
I went in the North Gate at about 4pm and it was about a 15 minute wait. I had to push & jostle a little bit to keep me and my wife from getting lost in the tide. Hopefully you’re right Ken and this should be settled by the Oregon State game. I’ve been sitting in the same seats (EE) with my dad for about 20 years and I have to admit–it was strange not going in the same gate that I always have. But, I think it’s best that they put the fence up and closed the gates– for everyone concerned.
September 3rd, 2007 at 10:36 am
Hey, you went through the North gate at the same time I did. I thought it was you who kept elbowing me in the side!?! 🙂
15 minutes sounds about right although it felt like forever.
September 4th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I wasn’t harping so much on the safety aspect (but don’t doubt for a minute the University’s liability had there been emergency and there was a problem getting out)…my real issue was with the incovenience of getting out AFTER the game…and not getting out of the stadium, which is always a problem, but once out of the stairways (in may case, coming out of the FF tunnel) onto that outer concourse to the perimeter gates. That took much longer than 15 minutes to maneuver through. It was hot, cramped wall-to-wall fans plodding along to the very few accessible exit gates.
My complaint was more to the fact that we all pay good money to support our team and yet we were the ones having to deal with the impact of the people in the trees. My complaint was more with University officials not forcing the tree sitters out, but choosing to install a fence; a fence which led to gate closures, etc.
I realize that this is an issue soon-to-be resolved. I just wish the University would have considered our needs and comfort over those of the trespassers in the trees!
September 5th, 2007 at 5:56 am
I clearly didn’t have the same experience as you, TrumanHugh. I had no more difficulty streaming out of the stadium from section DD than usual.
I think everyone agrees that it sucks that we’re being inconvenienced for a handful of ignorant protestors. However, I cut the University some slack because they’re playing a ridiculously delicate PR campaign. Why there are so many people who can be manipulated by the idiotic hippy protest tactics is beyond me, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is the environment we live in. As a result, the University has to play their little childish game.
Turning the tables around, if Sandy Barbour came up to you personally and said, “Would you wait inside this cramped, hot cardboard box for 30 minutes? It’ll make a world of difference for the new stadium project.” Would you do it? I know I would, although I might be curious why this would help. I suspect that the University well knows that bending over backwards for the tree-sitters is frustrating to all of us. They also know that as faithful supporters of the Bears, that we’ll do whatever it takes to help the University win. As a result they have a “when in doubt, take the road that inconvenieces the fan instead of the road that plays into the protestors hands” policy.
It sucks, but it is probably the right way to go.
For what it is worth, once the High Performance Center is built, at least a couple of the gates that are blocked off now will go away permanently. the difference is that I’m sure they’ll be making alterations to the entire perimeter that’ll make things flow smoother. (Widening existing gates and pathways and adding new gates, etc.)