Why can't we have a Red Mile? Heck, why can't we just tailgate?

Author: Scott Taylor

October 9, 2009

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David Asper went to law school in San Diego.  He lived three blocks from what was then Jack Murphy Stadium (now Qualcomm Stadium).  Nobody in Winnipeg, with the possible exception of Super Vikings fan Syd Davy, knows the tailgating experience better than the man who hopes to build a new football stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the University of Manitoba.

“When the Oakland Raiders came to town, it was Raider-Hater Weekend,” Asper recalled, fondly.  “They used to start tailgating on Friday.  And when BYU (Brigham Young University) came to town to play SDSU (San Diego State) it was just as big a deal.  They’d party all weekend.”

“I loved it and I always have, but we have to be careful not to assume that Canadians want the same experience.  I don’t think you try, in Canada at least, to tailgate randomly.  You build it around a particular game or event.  Football, all sports for that matter, and the tailgating that goes with it is built into the American culture.  It isn’t part of our culture.  The Bombers have tried to do it in the past but they haven’t been successful.  We have to do some research to see if that’s something people want to do.”

One gets the sense David is always careful.  The last thing he wants at this stage in the development of the plan to build a new stadium at the U of M is to get people talking about tailgate parties on campus.  Especially when he knows there are all sorts of legal hurdles to jump if anyone is ever going to tailgate in Manitoba.

However, one senses that the young people in this community -- the ones who really want to enjoy football -- want to participate in the American tailgating experience.  In fact, a young man named Kevin Chaves, devoted an entire column in the University of Winnipeg student newspaper, The Uniter, to tailgating in the CFL.  Meanwhile many members of Canada’s blogging community have made it an issue.  Just Google “tailgating in Canada” or “tailgating in the CFL,” and one will immediately assume: This is an issue.

Chaves, to his credit, called every team in the league to inquire about their tailgating policies and found out that generally cops crack down on tailgaters just for giggles.  Our Draconian liquor laws don’t allow for fun in parking lots before, during or after football games.  In fact, as Chaves found out, we even have fire laws that don’t permit barbecues in parking lots.

 “I know the Bombers have faced two real problems when it comes to tailgating,” Asper said.  “No. 1, the physical facility at Polo Park just isn’t conducive to traditional tailgating parties and No. 2, we have liquor laws and fire laws that prevent us from even making lunch or having a beer in a parking lot before a game.  I don’t want to count it (tailgating) out because I know there are many fans who would like to create a tailgating experience, but the questions remain: How many?   And how do you do it?”

While Asper isn’t sure that real, American tailgating parties will ever take hold in Winnipeg, he is sure that the concept of Calgary’s Red Mile isn’t out of the question.  “One of the great things about Qualcomm in San Diego is that it’s in an area where there are all kinds of bars and restaurants near the stadium,” he said.  “People could enjoy a pre-game meal in a restaurant or bar and then walk to the game.  Might it happen down Pembina Highway or on campus after we get the stadium built?  I don’t know, but it’s another thing to think about.  In answer to all your questions, I think Bomber management should do the research and find out exactly what the fans want.”

If one bases the fans’ desires on the 18-34 demographic (male and female), it’s almost unanimous that some kind of tailgating or Red Mile experience is important to them.  Whether the law will ever permit it is still the 900-pound gorilla in the room.

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