The Aberdeen Wings are coming to the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena to face off against the Watertown Shamrocks Saturday night; the atmosphere should be electric, especially since tailgating is now a city-approved activity.
According to City Manager Amanda Mack, the fact that fans wanted to tailgate Shamrocks games somewhat took the city by surprise. The city initially declared that there would be no tailgating at the ice arena (which is wholly owned by the city), but relaxed that stance Wednesday night due to public requests and the expected sold-out game Saturday night.
However, there are a list of rules tailgaters must follow to remain compliant. They are as follows:
- Tailgating will be allowed in the NE corner of the ice arena parking lot starting at 3 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. This area will be roped off and clearly identified. Vehicles will be allowed to be parked in the area on a first come, first serve basis.
- No outside alcohol will be allowed in the parking lot, the facility, or the tailgate area. If someone brings their own in, they will be asked to leave.
- Those that want alcohol will need to come into the building, get a wristband to ensure they are 21, and purchase tokens which can be traded for beer. The beer cart will be rolled out to the parking lot so fans can get beer in the tailgate area. The city will have the station set up so they can exit right into the tailgate area from the east entrance.
- Coolers with soda, water, etc. are fine. Food/grilling/games/music is allowed and encouraged. However, no glass containers and fans are expected to clean up after themselves.
- Tailgating will end promptly at 6:30 p.m. so fans can enter the arena for the 7 p.m. puck drop and all tents (if there are any) and tailgate items need to be cleaned up and packed away by 7 p.m.
- No consumption of alcohol will be allowed in the parking lot after 6:30 p.m.
- Two Watertown Police Department officers will be patrolling the tailgate area.
- City staff/Council will be manning the beer cart and tailgate area until other solutions can be worked out.
When asked, Mack told the Current that the city has never been against tailgating, they just did not have pre-prepared rules and procedures on how to deal with tailgating and keeping it safe and legally compliant.
“We were so focused on how to run a brand new facility that just opened, and also host a NAHL team at the same time, that this issue wasn’t even on our radar,” Mack said.
The rules for tailgating created by the city are limited by the ice arena’s alcohol license; as zoned by the city, the license applies not to just the facility, but to the entire property. This is why outside alcohol is not allowed, it is illegal on a state level based on their license. The city also wants to keep a modicum of control of alcohol consumption to make sure some overzealous fans are not overserved and not cause challenges for law enforcement. Two officers will also be patrolling the area to make sure things remain above board.
“This all has to do with our license,” Mack said. “As it stands, beer revenue is split 50/50 between the city and the team. Outside alcohol isn’t allowed even in the parking lot because laws prohibit that.”
Mack is not sure if the rules will stick, or if they will be altered in the future based on what happens at the next few home games.
“I don’t know how the city is going to manage this going forward. The city council could adopt these rules permanently, or see how it goes and make changes to it based on turnout. The council could also rezone the property and reduce the alcohol license to just the arena instead of the whole property and parking lot. As it stands, these rules were made quickly to address a public desire while keeping everything legal.”
“These rules came from ideas between Alderman Mike Danforth and myself,” Mayor Reid Holien told the Current. “I’m glad we have a short-term solution to address this. We will need a little time to craft a better solution to satisfy all parties involved, but we have a good framework to start with.”
“Is hiring city staff and paying them overtime to man the beer cart the best use of city funds? Maybe not. There are groups that may be interested in doing this like the hockey association, but we haven’t had official talks with them—much less have an agreement in place—so we’ll man the helm until something else is in place to serve the community.”
While Mack, the mayor, and the council will be manning the beer cart at the tailgate, she probably won’t be tailgating herself.
“I’m totally a fair-weather fan. You won’t see me standing in the snow around a grill outside of a Shamrocks or Jackrabbits game for that matter.”