Antonovich Wants Half-Off Deals On Alcohol Canceled At Dodger Stadium
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich wants Dodger executives to cancel a planned half-off special on alcohol at games, after the near fatal beating of a Giants fan at Dodger Stadium.
Half-off alcohol deals were planned for games on April 21, May 4, June 15, June 22, August 10 and August 31, but executives are now reconsidering after Bryan Stow, who was wearing Giants clothing, was nearly beaten to death by two men in Dodgers gear on March 31.
"They don't need to be offering alcoholic beverages at half price when they can't handle the crowd at full price," Supervisor Michael Antonovich said.
Stow is hospitalized in a coma and likely suffered brain damage, according to his doctors.
Antonovich called the Dodgers' plan to beef up security as "a day late and a dollar short."
The team has hired Former LAPD Chief William Bratton and his security firm, Kroll Associates, to recommend a way to prevent fights on both sides of the turnstiles. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has said more officers would be sent to the stadium on game days and that they would be more aggressive in making arrests.
Other plans include adding more lights in the parking lot, limiting the sale of alcohol, reducing the size of alcohol containers and removing drunken and bullying fans.
Though he stopped short of recommending it, Antonovich mentioned that someone had suggested limiting people to one alcoholic drink and using a hand stamp to enforce the proposed policy.
On Friday, Beck pointed to booze as a significant factor in fan misbehavior, while owner Frank McCourt said the problem was not "the sale of beer that's a problem per se. I think it's the abuse of that privilege."
The Dodgers have yet to make as decision about going forward with the half-off deals, a spokesman said Tuesday.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
