2019 Amendment to Allow Liquor Sales at Welsh Ryan Arena

INTRODUCED AT COUNCIL 2019

Posted: Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Guestbook entry by: Laura McFarlane

Alcohol at Welsh-Ryan Out of Bounds

An open letter to our Mayor and City Council:

I was stunned to learn recently that Northwestern is seeking an amendment to the Liquor Code that would allow it to sell alcohol during events at the Welsh-Ryan Arena.

This is a significant change that will have an enormous impact on Evanston as a whole, not just the surrounding neighborhoods. It would give Northwestern the ability to serve alcohol to 7,000 people at a time. That is probably more than the number of people who could be served alcohol by all the rest of Evanston’s bars and restaurants put together.

Those alcohol-imbibing patrons will then be driving home on routes that travel throughout Evanston. And as far as I can tell, the amendment would not require restrictions of any kind on the license – not on the total number of drinks that can be sold, and not on the time frame (even Wrigley stops selling alcohol well before the end of a game). Alcohol could be sold as early as 11 a.m. and as late as 2 a.m.

This will also further degrade the area around the arena. Before, alcohol-related problems arose largely from people tailgating – an activity almost wholly confined to home football games, of which there are about 10 per year. But Northwestern uses its athletic complex for about 170 events per year. And although the current application is for the arena only, Northwestern’s attorney candidly told the Liquor Commission that it has “an interest in extending this privilege to other venues on Northwestern’s campus in the future” – such as the 40,000-seat stadium, the Rocky Miller baseball park, and other parts of the athletic complex. The current application is just the tip of the iceberg.

This proposed amendment was approved by the Liquor Commission chaired by Mayor Hagerty (thanks for nothing, Mayor) and was introduced at the last City Council meeting.

It is currently designated for Action at the next City Council meeting on June 24. but it is far too large a change to be rushed through with so little discussion.

Considering the careful consideration that the Liquor Commission gives to far more limited liquor licenses, at the very least the City deserves a chance to consider the likely impact of this change.

If this proposal concerns you, please contact your alderperson to (1) request a postponement of the vote on this amendment, and (2) let them know of any concerns you have. Thank you. 

Alderwoman Revelle was successful in tabling the measure to pass the liquor proposal until the NU text amendment re. pro events was brought to or decided at Council.

The following two emails  to the City were retrieved via a FOIA  that requested information about NU's text amendment proposal.

June 24, 2019

Subject : Please Vote No regarding the Northwestern University Liquor License

Tom, 

I honestly don’t understand why more times than not, City Council Members and Staff try to avoid citizen input in issues important to their neighborhoods, until after the fact.  This approach is becoming commonplace.  This is not a criticism in your case as you do try to get the word out in advance of most votes. 

Alderman Revelle on the other hand is fully aware of the concerns in her ward about allowing alcohol to be served at athletic games.  It’s a neighborhood issue,  like any liquor license anywhere in Evanston.  The neighborhood around Welsh Ryan Field does not want NU to serve liquor.  The neighborhood around Welsh Ryan Field does not want professional sports and other professional entertainment activities.   

The liquor license agenda item FOR ACTION tonight should be removed from the agenda or held until community members have the opportunity to weigh in.  It’s their neighborhood and they don’t want a bunch of plastered out of towners roaming their streets in a drunken stupor.    

VOTE NO AND PLEASE ASK THAT THIS ITEM BE REMOVED FROM THE AGENDA. 

I hope Alderman Revelle is not trading her support for NU in exchange for some other NU commitment somewhere else in Evanston, like the so called donation to the Robert Crown Center.  We still don’t know if it’s a donation, prepayment, or some combination of the two.  More lack of Transparency.

THANK YOU ALDERMAN SUFFREDIN

Mike Vasilko

Ward 6

July 8, 2019

Subject : Please vote no for liquor license for 7-8000 people in a residential neighborhood.

Hello Council Members, CC: Mayor Hagerty &  City Manager Bobkiewicz

The massive Northwestern University athletic facilities are in the middle of residential neighborhoods and for that reason decisions that enlarge the permitted uses impacts the surrounding neighborhoods, and usually impacts the neighborhoods in a detrimental way. 

Two issues which are before you tonight  or on their way to you  are 1.)  request to changing Evanston Zoning to allow permitted uses for professional and for profit events  at Welsh Ryan and  2. ) The application for liquor license. 

Tonight the liquor license is up for vote and because neighborhood residents were not ever aware of this new request for a new license in a zoning district that previously prohibited sale of liquor, and no notice was given via email or at ward meetings, residents did not  show up at the liquor commission meeting to talk and ask questions. 

As of today there are still no  liquor commission minutes posted for 2019. I could not even go back and see what was discussed as far as pros and cons. In the name of good government and representing residents, It seems that the entire process should be started over again. This is not like giving a liquor license to a business in a district that currently allows the sale of liquor. This essentially creates a pop up bar for 7-9000 people. If were on NU Campus with parking and not so many families trying to live their lives, maybe this would be a good idea, however, this is the middle of residential neighborhoods. 

Please vote no on : (A29) Ordinance 51-O-19, Approval to Amend City Code 3-4-6 “Classification and License Fees” to Create a New Class R-1 Liquor License The Liquor License Commissioner recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 51-O-19, amending City Code 3-4-6 “Classification and License Fees” to add Class R-1 to the Liquor Code to allow for alcoholic beverage sales at Welsh-Ryan arena. This item was held at the June 10, 2019 City Council meeting. For Action   

Thank you,

Mary O’Rourke Rosinski 

The following email included copies of various scientific articles regarding the negative impacts of serving  liquor within sport venues. 

July 22, 2019

Subject: Liquor license for U2

Esteemed Mayor and Alderpeople,

I have enclosed the extracts (mostly introduction and conclusions) of several articles that point out the negative aspects of serving liquor within sports venues. I do have the entire articles available, if you so desire.

There are several points raised in these articles that that I hope you will notice:

At least 8% to 8.4% of attendees at sport events where alcohol is served become intoxicated (0.08 BAC) and many drive home drunk. 

Programs to train liquor servers in an effort to manage liquor serving to obviously intoxicated patrons inside arenas are not successful. The positive effects in Sweden of the RBS training program have NOT been observed in other countries. Training programs stop working a few months after implementation. Corporate sponsors are less successful in implementing alcohol managing programs. Noisy environments inside arenas make it more difficult to observe intoxication among patrons. Servers under age 30 are more likely to serve intoxicated patrons.

 Both tailgating AND indoor serving of alcohol contribute to significant intoxication levels and related problems during and following sports events. West Virginia's lowered level of intoxication inside their stadium was due to their strict no-reentry policy: forbidding intoxicated tailgaters to reenter the sports arena at half-time. Would NU implement such a policy?

Alcohol serving at professional sports events is linked to aggressive behavior (including assaults, vandalism and other injuries) and other safety issues (drunk driving etc.). Student drinking (including underage) increases at sports events, particularly if these events are successful. Students' deaths due to alcohol are high.

Serving alcohol at arena and stadium events creates great economic and public health burdens for society; it requires allocation of additional police forces and has a negative impact on public transportation and health services.  Unfortunately enforcement efforts by agencies (police etc.) are not conducted regularly due in part to lack of resources, and because efficient and cost effective enforcement methods have not been identified. 

Finally there is the issue of alcohol's effect, even below 0.08 BAC levels. There is a lack of a standardized and validated measure for defining intoxication. Some individuals are physiologically sensitive to low doses of alcohol, and become intoxicated on small amounts of alcohol. 

Finally, specific to our Evanston situation:

The U2 District is entirely surrounded by a large residential neighborhood, that includes four schools, preschools and a public library. The impact of increased drunk driving on our residential streets will create a great hazard, especially to the vulnerable populations of children and seniors.

Even non-drinking, "calm" events such as graduations at the U2 District cause traffic situations on Central Street (i.e non-observance of Illinois State mandated pedestrian stop signs). Moreover police does not monitor the intersections at Eastwood and Broadway. This is particularly problematic since there isn't a pedestrian walkway at the Eastwood-Central intersection.

Allowing drinking inside U2 venues will create much larger traffic issues. The City may well be faced with ensuing lawsuits, if accidents are linked to drinking inside U2 venues, a policy the City of Evanston is unfortunately considering to pass. 

Yvi Russell

Below: September, 18, 2019 : an article in the Round Table by Ken Proskie

Bucks & Booze for NU ? Not Us

A Guest Essay By Ken Proskie

Northwestern University, which operates tax-free in Evanston, has proposed two controversial amendments to Evanston zoning laws that would dramatically change our neighborhoods, diminish our property values (leading to increased property taxes Citywide), risk our safety and jeopardize small businesses. The proposals are about to come before the City Council for approval. 

The changes would allow NU to host large, for-profit concerts and professional sports events at the athletic facilities near Central Street, including Welsh-Ryan Arena and Ryan Field, and to sell alcohol at these events. 

What’s The Big Flap About?

The athletic facilities are in the heart of a residential neighborhood, on the main route to a Level 1 Trauma Center hospital, on the same street as two fire houses and near an important tax-generating business district, each of which would be severely and negatively impacted if such activities were allowed to move forward.

There are more than 520 houses and 20 multifamily residential buildings within 1,000 feet of these sports facilities. Thousands more homes and residents would be affected by the large crowds, impaired pedestrians, drunk drivers and noise created by large pro sports and for-profit concerts at these venues.

Large events like football and men’s basketball games already cause insane traffic and parking problems. Nearby residents have to plan their activities around NU’s events, because on game days/nights, you can’t have friends over (no place for them to park), can’t run errands (no parking when you return) and have to keep your kids away from rowdy patrons and speeding cars trying to escape the traffic jams by zooming down a residential side street. Many Central Street stores get less business on game days/nights because people don’t want to fight the congestion or can’t find parking. 

Further, those same streets are used by emergency vehicles for the hospital and fire stations. Adding more commercial activities that are likely to draw large crowds is an unacceptable burden on our community.

There is no reason NU should be get these changes, which would allow them to make more money at our expense. Serving alcohol will add another layer of problems. Studies show that on average 8% of people leaving sports events where liquor is served have blood alcohol levels above the legal limit.  At events of 7,000 people, that’s more than 500 drunks. 

Wouldn’t It Bring In Money for the City?

NU says that the City would get revenue from these activities. First, the amounts raised would be relatively minimal. Second, they would be more than offset by the cost of additional fire and paramedic services, wear and tear on our streets, loss of tax from local businesses that lose customers on event days, and lower property taxes when home prices diminish and the fabric of neighborhoods is shredded. An economist testified before the Plan Commission that people who come into a community for large events are less likely to spend money in local restaurants and shops than residents would as they usually come to the event and leave.

Doesn’t NU Need the Money?

NU has one of the biggest endowments in the country – more than $12 billion, according to its 2018 Annual Report.  Their athletics program alone brought in more than $93 million last year.   If that’s not enough, that’s their problem, not ours. We encourage residents to join us in saying eNOugh to NU.  Learn more on our Facebook page:  Evanston Neighbors Against Pro Sports or NorthwesternNeighbors.org

-- Asbury Northwestern Neighbors, Evanston Neighbors Against Pro Sports/Al Williams North Evanston Watch/Laurie McFarlane, Judy Berg, Evanston Economists for Growth/John Nadar and Joe Hill, NorthwesternNeighobrs.org/Mary Rosinski and Christina Brandt, Spotlight on Evanston/Yvi Russell. Mr. Proskie is a member of Asbury Northwestern Neighbors