Jed York set the tone for yesterday's press conference with 49ers team officials and Mayor Ed Lee when he told the press, "the degenerate behavior that happened on Saturday is not going to be tolerated." And after confirming rumors we heard yesterday that the team would ask the league to cancel the yearly San Francisco-East Bay rivalry game, York laid out the team's new guidelines for tailgating at Candlestick Park.
In an attempt to curb game day violence, the team announced they'll be opening the gates at Candlestick only four hours before kickoff so the sudsy masses will have less time to down their pre-game beverages in the parking lot.
Further cutting in to the open hours on the asphalt beer garden, the team will be completely cutting off tailgate parties after kickoff and cracking down with DUI checkpoints and open container busts in the surrounding area. As 49ers security chief Jim Mercurio explained, anyone spotted milling about in the parking lot without a ticket after kickoff will be asked to make their way to the exits.
Although SFPD had 40% more officers on site at the preseason game than they normally would during the regular season, Chief Greg Suhr (a native and a lifelong Niner fan) said the game was "like no other than I can remember," and that, "nobody could have prepared for what happened on Saturday night." Suhr told the press Saturday's game saw 90 calls for medical service, or ten times the average 7-10 calls per game. Likewise, 12 arrests were made Saturday (compared to the usual one or two) and at least 70 people were ejected - more than three times the average 20 per game.
What's more, York and Ed Lee seem to agree part of the problem lies with stadiumgoers who are not, in fact, actual football fans. Although York only seems to be drawing on the slew of YouTube videos showing Niner jersey-on-Niner jersey violence as his evidence. To curb this violent segment of the crowd, York and Lee agree that season ticket holders need to be conscious of who they sell their tickets to, especially for the preseason games that tend to be less of a draw for stadium regulars.
On a related note, the father of the gunshot victim who was shot in stomach multiple times denies earlier reports that his son was wearing a "Fuck the 49ers" t-shirt, saying his son is a Niners fan himself.
Previously: 49ers and Raiders to Cancel Annual Exhibition Game Due to Violence, 2 Shot, 1 Injured as 49ers-Raiders Game Turns Violent
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