Parking scarce on game days

By Genna Tan

The San Jose Earthquakes' first game at Buck Shaw Stadium drew thousands of fans Saturday evening, which necessitated the use of parking areas normally reserved for campus use and extra security from the Santa Clara Police Department and Campus Safety.

"In terms for our preparation for the event, everything worked out fine," said Campus Safety director Charlie Arolla. "There were some communication issues between the Earthquakes organization and ours, but we're working it out."

With an estimated crowd of 10,000 people, Campus Safety reserved the parking garage, Leavey lot, Loyola Hall lot and the third mission lot -- which is near the main entrance -- for game day parking.

Parking permits won't be valid in the restricted lots on game days, but Arolla said there are other parking lots for campus use. Franklin lot, South Bannan lot, Palm Drive, Alviso Street, Cowell lot, Benson B lot and Facilities parking lot are available for Santa Clara parking permit holders only.

"Unfortunately, some students view the parking structure as their only available resource for parking," said Arolla.

Vehicles without permits will be cited and towed, Arolla said. On most weekends, parking permits aren't required to park on campus.

Senior Bryant Truong said he had trouble parking on Saturday.

"I wanted to work on my senior design project," said Truong, who commutes from San Jose. "There was no parking, and I had to park at the back of the school by O'Connor."

There is one Earthquakes game scheduled for a weekday evening, Thursday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. Arolla said he couldn't comment on what the parking procedure will be for this game.

Junior Ken Loh said he's not sure if he'll be affected by the weeknight game.

"I'm rarely on campus in the evenings," said Loh, who commutes from San Jose. "However, I do think that the common sentiment among commuters is that SCU needs more parking."

"We will have to see how the first two games go to see just how much of the parking lots that have been provided to the Earthquakes are utilized," said Arolla. "We might not provide students with the entire parking structure; it may be just a portion of it."

Campus safety is not involved in the security arrangements for Earthquakes events. But they are responsible for the preparation of parking venues for the game, and the maintenance of parking availability for the remainder of the campus.

"We are dealing with the areas of the campus that are not involved with the soccer event," said Arolla. "The parking lots that are a part of the event venue are all the responsibility of the Earthquakes." Arolla added that fans must adhere to a "no tailgating" rule. Still, some fans were observed tailgating in the third mission lot at Saturday's game.

Alcohol will be served in limited designated areas in the stadium on Earthquakes' game days, and all drinking must take place within those areas. Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the stands or parking lots.

"If we have people that are consuming alcoholic beverages in an area that is our responsibility, campus safety would deal with it," said Arolla. "If it's in a parking lot that is given over to the Earthquakes, then it would be their security and the Santa Clara Police Department."

Arolla also added that although there is a no-alcohol policy for university sporting events, the policy does not apply to the Earthquakes games held on campus because it is a professional event.

The expected number of people on game days is less than the number of people at Santa Clara's annual undergraduate commencement ceremony, and Arolla said he is certain the preparations made by the Earthquakes' organization and Santa Clara police are sufficient to ensure the safety of the people attending the event.

Five Campus Safety officers in addition to the usual four officers per shift were at the Earthquakes event, but no parking tickets were issued and no vehicles were towed away, Arolla said.

Contact Genna Tan at (408) 554-4546 or gbtan@scu.edu