Posted on 02/22/2003 4:15:07 AM PST by buccaneer81
State board suspends Nationwide Arena beer sales for 10 days
Saturday, February 22, 2003
Robert Ruth
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Fans who have suffered with the Columbus Blue Jackets through a mediocre season soon could have trouble drowning their sorrows at Nationwide Arena.
The three-member Ohio Liquor Control Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to suspend the alcohol licenses of all beer stands in the Downtown arena for 10 days, ending March 30, for selling beer to underage informants in February 2002.
Officials of Midwest Sportservice of Buffalo, N.Y., which operates the beer stands, could appeal the ruling to the Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Operators of bars at Port Columbus appealed in December after they were hit with a 15-day liquor and beer suspension. Judges Jennifer Brunner and John P. Bessey issued restraining orders postponing the suspension. The cases are still pending.
If the arena decision is not appealed, the 10-day suspension will affect fans attending Blue Jackets games against Toronto on March 20 and Atlanta on March 22.
Two other events are scheduled during the 10-day span, but beer sales are not expected to be significant for them.
Barney's Colorful World, a children's show featuring a television dinosaur, is scheduled for March 25-26. The Women of Faith conference is scheduled for March 28-29.
The beer ban is scheduled to expire three hours before the Columbus Landsharks lacrosse team plays March 30.
Midwest Sportservice officials issued a news release yesterday saying they were disappointed with the suspension and that they were reviewing their options.
"We have always been concerned about underage attempts to purchase alcohol,'' the statement said.
The ban does not affect the three bars in the Black and Blue restaurant, attached to the arena. The restaurant is under a separate liquor license. Customers can buy beer, wine and liquor there but can't take it into the arena.
The arena suspension was imposed after two underage informants for the Ohio Department of Public Safety bought beer at three stands within a 14-minute period on Feb. 9, 2002.
Last year's violations were the most recent in a string of citations at the arena. This hockey season, Midwest Sportservice imposed stricter policies that include running driver's licenses through machines that validate the age of buyers and the legitimacy of IDs.
In the February 2002 sting operation, a 19-year-old informant bought a beer at a stand from Marsha Fullen, 39, of 690 Preston Trails, Pickerington, according to liquor-control commission records. An 18-year-old informant bought beers at separate stands from Jeannett Peters, 37, of Mansfield, and William Damsel, 46, of 390 Tucker Dr., Worthington, according to commission records.
Last year, Damsel and Fullen each pleaded no contest in Franklin County Municipal Court to a misdemeanor charge of serving beer to someone under the age of 21. Peters pleaded guilty to an identical charge. All three were fined $50.
The sting was conducted by a task force of state and local agents aimed at keeping bars and restaurants from serving alcohol to underage patrons.
Last year, Damsel and Fullen each pleaded no contest in Franklin County Municipal Court to a misdemeanor charge of serving beer to someone under the age of 21. Peters pleaded guilty to an identical charge. All three were fined $50.
Outrageous. And the Dispatch aids and abets by publishing the names and addresses of the vendors. Some of these booths are run by charitable organizations and manned by volunteers.
So the state can provide false ID for sting operations, but your kid loses his license for a year if he uses one.
BTW, these same sting agents were stung themselves here last month. They went into an upscale restaurant downtown and had their false ID confiscated by a sharp-eyed server! They complained loudly that they needed it back as they had other establishments to sting that night. The mamagement refused to return it!
As luck would have it, I have tickets to the CBJ vs. Atlanta game on March 22. No beer for me!
Barney and the Church Ladies? Any sane man would need the beer just to get through an afternoon with either of them.
Interestingly, we have a local incident where three local bartenders from chain restaurants have been arrested and criminally charged. Their crime? They served alcohol to a twin brother and sister who were one day from their 21st birthday. The problem is that they had a wreck and were both killed. They are scharged with serving alcohol to underagre persons. The local authorities have the nerve to state "We are showing we are serious about selling alcohol to minors". WTF!!! They were one day shy of being 21. Nothing would have ever happened if they hadn't been killed in the wreck. Its wrong in mu opinion for the authorities to act like that.
What a lazy reporter this Robert Ruth is. What a lame use of a lame cliche! The cliche being used doesn't even apply here at all. People at this arena don't drink beer to "drown their sorrows" on account of a mediocre performance of the hometown team. I am outraged and insulted that the reporter would make this assumption. These patrons are paying good money to attend these sporting events. If they were truly disheartened by the performance of this team, they wouldn't be attending the games in the first place!
It is totally outrageous to suggest that people drink beer at a sports arena to "drown their sorrows." This is a most irresponsible and reckless accusation to make against beer drinkers. The vast majority of beer drinkers do NOT drink beer to "drown their sorrows." Those beer drinkers that do drink for this reason would certainly not be attending sports events where they are forced to pay an inordinate amount of money for a paper cup of watered down beer.
This reporter should be terminated from his job.
When I was in the Navy, they'd issue fake ID cards to people; who would in turn try to access the ship. (They called them Zulu 5 Oscars ).
It make me wonder how the ID's were altered. Did the photos match the person with the ID, was the d.o.b. incorrect, (too young) or what?
That is a bit much, in my view.
I must admit that it is funny to be asked for ID at a hockey or basketball game (I'm 61).
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Beer and hockey will continue to go together at Columbus Blue Jackets games.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Nodine Miller indefinitely stayed a 10-day suspension of the alcohol license for all beer stands at Nationwide Arena. The suspension was to run from March 20-March 30 and was imposed because two underage informants bought beer at the arena in February 2002.
The stay, which Miller signed Tuesday, will be in place through at least April 4, the last home game of the Blue Jackets' season.
Miller will decide later whether to permanently overturn the suspension. Marc Myers, an attorney for Midwest Sportservice, which runs the beer stands, said the process will take months.
The suspension would have been in place for games on March 20 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the first visit by Toronto to Columbus, and March 22 against the Atlanta Thrashers.
In his request for a stay, Myers argued that the ban would lead to embarrassment for the city. He said that with the storied Maple Leafs making their first visit to Columbus, the ban would be especially embarrassing because "Significant media attention will be focused on that game and the city of Columbus by national media."
The suspension would not have affected the Black and Blue restaurant, which is attached to the arena. The restaurant has a separate liquor license.
Information from: The Columbus Dispatch
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