Buffalo Bills tell rowdy fans to change behavior, or else
Last week, the Buffalo Bills sent out letters to about 150 season-ticket holders and ticket buyers, but the letters said nothing about the exploits of Trent Edwards, Lee Evans or Marcus Stroud.
Instead, the letters addressed unruly behavior by people sitting in those ticket holders’ seats in Ralph Wilson Stadium during the Bills home opener against Seattle.
“A report was filed that an individual with season tickets purchased on your account was arrested at [or ejected from] Ralph Wilson Stadium,” the letter to season- ticket holders states. “As the ticket buyer of record, you are responsible for your behavior and the behavior of any person utilizing your seats.”
The letters also carry a dire warning:
“Any additional incidents or violations of the Fan Code of Conduct or Ralph Wilson Stadium policies may lead to revocation of your season tickets.”
While many fans still complain about rowdy, drunken behavior at these games, the Bills cite the letters as evidence that they’re trying to crack down on unruly behavior, in keeping with the National Football League’s new Fan Code of Conduct.
Letters were sent to any season-ticket holders or credit-card purchasers of game tickets held by fans who were arrested at the game, ejected for rowdy behavior or turned away at the gate for being too drunk.
Law-enforcement and Bills officials have stated that authorities arrested 28 people at the stadium, ejected 87 and turned away 46 at the stadium gates.
“We’re trying to get the word out to create a better and safer atmosphere for our fans,” explained the letter’s author, Bills security director Chris Clark. “The letters are just to put people on notice that we’re serious.”
The letter-writing campaign is just one of several initiatives that the Bills and their friends in law enforcement have adopted in the last couple years to crack down on nasty behavior at the games.
Besides the letters, authorities are listing a hotline number (312-8933) for fans to call to report in-stadium problems; making taxi cabs available for overly drunk fans leaving the stadium; cracking down on underage drinking; and instituting more DWI patrols in the area.
Still, problems remain. Seattle Seahawks fans blogging on the issue after the Sept. 7 game complained about the abuse heaped on them, including having glass bottles and other items thrown at them and being spat on by Bills fans. One fan claimed it was the worst behavior he had seen in an opposing team’s stadium.
Local law-enforcement officers made 32 arrests that day, including four for DWI away from the stadium, suggesting that they’re serious about the crackdown, but also that there’s a long way to go in resolving this problem.
One first-time visitor to Ralph Wilson Stadium, Beez Schell, a professor and administrator at Fredonia State College, had a mixed view of the crowd behavior in the upper deck at the Seattle game.
Schell said she was in awe of the electricity and energy level inside the stadium, but she also was struck by all the drinking.
“I didn’t feel threatened at all, but there was a lot of drunkenness and rowdiness,” she said. “There were a lot of intoxicated people, but it didn’t detract from the experience.”
That’s a fine line the Bills walk in making sure the drunkenness doesn’t spill over into behavior that turns fans away from the game.
“If you don’t send a message that you want a certain type of behavior, the behavior will deteriorate,” Clark said. “We want to draw a line in the sand.”
That’s why the Bills have threatened to revoke ticket holders’ seats. They’ve done it once, following a preseason game last season, when a season-ticket holder was arrested for assault following a fight.
“His account was terminated, the rest of his money was refunded, and his season tickets were sold again,” Clark said.
Clark said some fans receiving “the letter,” especially some holders of corporate accounts, were unaware that anyone using the tickets was engaged in such behavior. Others have been apologetic about the situation.
One fan, who apparently had been drinking all morning on a bus from London, Ont., to the Sept. 7 game, actually went to the Bills office on his way to court after he had received the letter.
“He said he didn’t even remember being in the stadium,” Clark recalled. “He was very apologetic to us.”
