Bad news for all the schadenfreudians who snickered over a possible booze ban at Levi's Stadium: According to Santa Clara's City Attorney, the governing body that was mulling the prohibition doesn't actually have the power to do a gosh darned thing to block Niners fans (or foes) from drinking at the game.
I'm sure you remember the story! Back in September, several Santa Clara City Council members, upset by video footage of a brutal brawl in the stadium lot following a game, said that the Council would consider a ban on post-halftime alcohol sales at the stadium.
“I know they make a lot of money off of alcohol sales," Council member Lisa Gillmor said, "but if people have an hour and a half (without alcohol) maybe they will cool down a bit."
Apparently, however, the Council's reach exceeds its grasp, as City Attorney Richard Nosky, Jr. recently informed them that "the city council and police department don’t have the authority to impose booze bans," at the stadium, CBS5 reports.
Bans are “really a case-by-case threat versus an across the board measure,” Nosky said.
According to CBS5, Santa Clara police are "working with stadium management to decide when booze should be cut off at each game," but the answer to that question might be "never," for in September, Santa Clara Police Chief Michael Sellers seemed to dismiss any booze concerns, saying that “We are just like any other NFL stadium... we have 70,000 fans, and less than a tenth of a percent are a problem.”
“There is an element that will still behave badly...It’s an individual choice.”
Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews seems to have a similar view on the situation, telling CBS5 that “If you cut off alcohol earlier people just binge drink, or they drink more in the parking lot."
“People that decide that they want to come to a game and use it as an excuse to get drunk are gonna get drunk, we can’t avoid that.”
Previously: Cheap Tickets Not Enough To Lure Wary Fans To Sunday's 49ers Game
Drink Fast! Ban On Booze Sales After Halftime Considered For Levi's Stadium
