It's one, two strikes you're out at chargers games

San Diego Business Journal, Sept 1, 2008 by Mike Allen

California has a three strikes law, but the San Diego Chargers might be tougher. They have instituted a two strikes policy regarding unruly football fans at Qualcomm Stadium.

Last season, they clamped down on what team executives said was a rising level of rowdiness in the stands. Those caught causing problems at games, which usually involved over-imbibing and getting into fights, were quickly evicted from the stadium. If those same fans got into another incident that required intervention by security personnel, they were notified that they couldn't purchase future tickets. Some 550 season ticket holders were banished from buying season tickets, says Jim Steeg, the Chargers' chief operating officer.

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Filling those vacated seats won't be any problem this season, which opens officially Sept. 7 when the Chargers host the Carolina Panthers. The team has more than 63,000 season ticket holders and is assured of selling out all eight of its regular-season home games once again.

That's what winning and making the playoffs in three of the past four seasons does to filling up the Q, which the team is intent on leaving.

While the Bolts are focusing on securing a site to house a state-of-the-art stadium and trying to win their first Super Bowl title, they also are committed to taking a tougher stance against boorishness at games.

And the Chargers aren't the only team concerned about their fans' behavior.

This season, the National Football League has adopted a Fan Code of Conduct that sets clear expectations about what kinds of actions won't be tolerated.

At the top of the list is "behavior that is unruly, disruptive or illegal in nature," according to the NFL notice made public last month.

Other specifics outlined in the policy include intoxication, foul or abusive language or obscene gestures, throwing objects on the field, failing to follow instructions from stadium personnel, and verbal or physical harassment of other fans.

Steeg says the NFL felt that, given what has been happening in stadiums in recent years, it needed to do something to protect the rights of the 99 percent of fans who know how to have a good time at games without offending other fans.

Supplementing the San Diego police, Qualcomm's security personnel, and a state-of-the-art video security system, the Chargers also count on a crew of retired police officers working outside the stadium to help reduce problems.

Attendance this season could very well break the team's record, set in 2006, when about 531,000 fans came to its eight home games for an average of about 66,000.

Those fans will be paying a bit more to cheer, with ticket prices higher for the fourth straight season, bringing the range between $48 and $90. Single-game tickets (and there's only a few thousand of those left for each game) range from $54 to $98, compared with $54 to $92 in the 2007 season.

Chargers games are such a hot ticket, the team began a season ticket waiting list last season. The Bolts have sold out 30 consecutive regular-season games, dating back to 2004, at Qualcomm, which has about 70,000 seats. There are some seats still available, but these are usually the least desirable or the most expensive. There's a smattering of luxury suites open and some club seats, and some of those great seats on the field level that require standing to see the action.

This season, the Chargers are part of the NFL's ongoing strategy of attracting new fans from around the planet when they play their Oct. 26 game in London against the New Orleans Saints.

Not sure this will have much of an impact on the Brits, who prefer their own version of footy and shunned NFL Europe when that league was still around.

Send any news concerning local sports business to Mike Allen via e-mail at mallen@sdbj.com.