Clamp down on Grog at Subiaco

[Darren]

From the Cottesloe/Mosman Post - February 11, 2006

The tightest drinking rules in Australia will apply to 40,000 rugby fans expected at Subiaco Oval on Friday night for the launch of the new rugby competition.

Trains will be met, bags searched and street drinkers busted and issued with on-the-spot fines.

The new drinking regime for the oval includes doubling the number of security staff - each block will have a controller, and they will patrol up to 200m from the oval.

Police will have a zero tolerance approach to street drinking.

Shane Walsh, from the WA Football Commission, said police would be at both train stations and anybody with a drink would have it confiscated and be fined.

"Bars will open only one hour before the game and close 20 minutes into the second half," he said. "There will be a big push to stop alcohol being taken into the oval.

"Anybody causing trouble or who is alcohol-affected will be evicted from the ground and fined $100 to $500 depending on their behaviour.

"If a club member, they will be suspended for several games.

"All travellers - whether it's dad having a quick beer on the way to the ground or younger people, they will all be treated the same."

Police, Subiaco council, the WA Football Commission, and caterers for the oval have put their cases to acting director of liquor licensing Peter Minchin.

He is due to announce his ruling next week.

But it was decided that this first game of the season on Friday would be a trial for the new regime.

The aim is to set the expectations of fans for the whole season, rather than change them in the first two weeks.

Mr Minchin was told that Subiaco would have the tightest rules in Australia and his decision should be closely watched by stadium operators around the country - including cricket and racing organisers.

For the first time fans will be able to buy mid-strength spirits - rum or bourbon and cola.

Until now, drinks have been limited to mid-strength beer or wine.

The change is being made because a major rugby sponsor is a liquor company - but police and Subiaco council were concerned about full-strength spirits being sold.

Drinking in stadiums is a tricky issue.

Rugby is a comparatively short game - two halves of 45 minutes each, with a 10-minute half-time.

The new competition happens on Friday nights across summer in warm weather - when people tend to drink more.

The logistics of serving drinks to about 30% of the crowd in only 10 minutes are formidable.

The number of bars, staff and equipment limit what can be done - so does the cost of setting all that up for just 10 minutes.

Similarly, operators baulk at asking manufacturers to provide a special mid-strength drink; but if the liquor licence demands mid-strength spirits, then that strengthens the argument.

Some observers say there is a trend for fans to drink at hotels and bars before going to the ground and to top up

[peterss]

Same thing happens at Eagles and Dockers home games.....Well not the searches and stuff at train station bu they do close the bar early @ AFL Games to

[Pontyboy]

All this time we've been duped - we're missing 5 minutes out of each half.....

[The EnForcer]

What is driving this? I guess it must be the excessive violence we see at our games in Subiaco. I know I recently saw two elderly women almost come to blows over a Mrs Mac's pie.

I would have thought improving secuity within the stadium to ensure dickheads are evicted would suffice......not that there are many to deal with. In addition, having better service where you only take two minutes to get a drink would prevent people from bulk buying......although I can't see how people get pissed on mid strength drinks.

I'm really back to my initial question....what is driving this? Maybe we just ain't supposed to have any fun anymore.

Go the Force

[The InnFORCEr]

Probably not suprising to anyone but I was at the trial match in Melbourne at Olympic Park and you could choose from Heiniken, Tooheys New or Sterling and the service was speedy. In fact up in the boxes when you go for a slash there is a window over the urinal at eye level so you don't miss a thing...not even your feet!

I would say that of the 37,037 people that attended last week, about the equivelent 5,000 would have spent the whole game lineing up for drinks.

We really have a long way to go.

It will be interesting when we get to NZ in April to see how there fans are hydrated.

[Burgs]

What is driving this?

It's because old ratbags like you took too many liberties TEF
No really I agree, it's kinda taking preventitave action a little too far for mine.
The bar behind our seats was shut well before the 60 minute mark (or should that by 65 ) and they had some pretty angry crew on their hands. I knew it would just mean missing match time but a few stayed to argue the point.
To stop people bringing in grog they would have to do body searches because the security I saw were simply having a quick glance into bags. We got in through Gate 26 pretty easily with only ten minutes to go and I was actually quite impressed with the gate staff and how they tried to make things really easy, explaining how to present the ticket etc. As soon as the bloke started announcing how to do it the line doubled it's speed.
As for the cops, well I really didn't see anything unusual from previous rugby matches but I didn't come directly from the train either. There was nothing along Hay St when I left the Vic to get some dollars near the Subi and everything seemd pretty casual.
I don't mind them being strict if it means not being surrounded by drunken dickheads, so long as they are fair and consistent.
As it is with a group of 8 we go up in three or four at a time and grab four beers each so you are always in front anyway.
Even when I tried to get the last ones before we shut we only actually ran out with five minutes to go in our seats. Amber management

[hatchie]

I'll have four flat warm midstrengths in a plastic cup thanks. No, that's fine - I'll pay extra for a bit of cardboard to carry them. Here's $25. Keep the change. Oh what? There isn't any? Oh well, too bad. Tell you what, it was worth the wait in line.

Amber management, indeed. Well, it has been going on for a while. Ever since 1998 the Health Department and the Department of Liquor and Gaming have teamed up to develop a strategy to reduce the amount of alcohol consumption in Western Australia.

Gone are the days of all-you-can-drinks, and even happy hours have strict limits on how cheap the alcohol can get. Their idea was essentially to increase the price of booze to stop people drinking to excess in pubs. Guess they didn't really think about those who can wander into a bottleo and pick up a nasty bottle of vodka and drink themselves stupid for $20.

Now, with the recent crowd problems in the cricket, event organisers have hit the panic button. More security, more 'dry areas', more limitations on how many drinks you can buy, when you can buy them, their alcohol content, and the ever esclading prices. Even at the WACA now if you are in general admin you couldn't take your drink to you seat. Outrageous.

The more limitations and restrictions they put on us, the more likely it is people will employ an accelerated drinking policy before the game, and attempt to smuggle booze in. It is a shame that it has come to this, but I think by introducing all these new rules is only going to generate more problems and upset the punters that are their to have a good time (and, no doubt, forked out considerable coin just for their ticket, let along everything else...)

[Mambo No. 5]

Absolutely hatchie... My MO at all subi games now is to drink silly before you get to the ground because it isn't worth waiting 15 minutes for a flat warm midstrength and missing any of the game. If they left the bars open after the game then at least the first few trains wouldn't be so packed as people slowly left the ground as oposed to the mass exodus they have now.