as per my friend Kurt Zeitler's Facebook post: I wanted to make sure UT baseball fans were aware (before you give the sons of ******* $155) , we are no longer allowed to tailgate in the parking garage. In fact, we would be classified as "loitering". "To ensure fan safety, tailgating is prohibited on any level of university parking structures. Parking structures are not designed for activities unrelated to the parking of vehicles. Prohibited tailgating related activities in these spaces include, but are not limited to: The use of open flames, grilling, smokers, and/or fryers Use of portable generators or unauthorized use of university power Use of tents, awnings, or temporary shelters, including portable chairs Loitering for the purpose to observe an event
I've been around here since '88 and as far as I remember it has never been enforced if it was ever really a rule.
What Viper said. There's some of those "fine print" posters near the entryway for every garage. Basically says you can't have any open flames, saved spots, generators running, etc. These signs were up in the 90s when I attended, but you're right that it didn't stop people.
Might also be heightened concern for a shooter. I'm old enough to have lived through the 60s, what with the daily TV reporting of the Viet Nam war, assassinations of JFK, MLK, RFK, the Whitman UT Tower shootings, race riots in Watts and elsewhere, the Democratic National Convention riots, etc. Seems like that kind of violence comes and goes by decades, dependent upon public issues and the like. I remember noting to someone after the church shooting near San Antonio last year, that looks like we might be going through another period of such craziness, as if copy cats see one do it and think it's no big deal if he then does it as well. In the meantime law enforcement does the best they can to balance individual rights and freedoms of mobility and access with modest restrictions to help them keep us all as safe as they can. A parking garage that might have 10 or 15 groups tailgating at elevated areas with a clear view of thousands of fans and behind a concrete barrier also might provide some nut an opportunity to get away with something unspeakable. If nobody is tailgating there, a periodic scan by security at a distance should easily protect us. If you've got a bunch of small crowds tailgating it would make it harder to tell who is just having a good time and who might be up to no good. Before it is too late. Just opining.
Athletic Director Chris Del Conte said that jurisdiction on this issue rests with the facilities people, not him. He said that he was told that they had structural concerns about 100 or so people concentrating so close to an exterior wall and he joke about their lack of concerns about the vehicles somewhat similarly concentrated nearby. He pointed out that at this time there is adequate surface level tailgating space just north of the baseball stadium. He also said that the parking permit issued for the East Campus Garage is also valid for the surface parking lots North East of the stadium until UT closes those lots for construction of the Graduate Student Housing project. It was evident that Del Conte considers the issue of tailgating at the East Campus Garage a closed issue.
This response by Del Conte is bull.... I don't know what the real reason is but this is not it. One hundred or so people is an overstatement. Even if true if you are worried about roughly the weight of 4 or 5 passenger vehicles spread out over 2 to 3 floors the integrity of the parking structure should be a concern.
The main concern is obviously not the weight of people concentrating in part of the garage. It's the potential for accidents with sight lines, open flames, beverages, etc.
