SUjagTILLiDIE
October 13th, 2006, 07:43 AM
October 13, 2006
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Pre-game, tailgating is fans' favorite sport
By Richard Lake
[email protected]
And Andrew Nelson
[email protected]
Vickie D. King/The Clarion-Ledger
Thursday afternoon isn't too early to show up for a Saturday night football game - not when you're talking about tailgating, not when you're talking about Jackson State versus Southern University.
"I'm late," declared JSU fan James Gray as he set up his homemade barbecue grill in the north parking lot of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium shortly after lunch Thursday.
"I'm usually in the front," said Gray, 49, a 1978 JSU grad and an electrician in Jackson. "Now look where I am." His setup was in the second row in the lot, behind a few canopies that others had already set up.
Fans began lining up their RVs, tents and giant grills outside the stadium Thursday morning. The game starts at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Jackson Police Department is encouraging fans to arrive early, because Saturday afternoon traffic around the stadium is expected to be nightmarish.
There is limited parking near the stadium, a Jackson Police Department news release said. Therefore, fans should give themselves enough time to find a place to park.
About 50,000 fans are expected for Saturday's game.
Seven gates - with two turnstiles at each - will be open for fans to enter the stadium, including a student gate, said Watt Whatley, the stadium's director.
JPD officers will patrol the area in and around the stadium, along with troopers from the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and deputies from the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, said Sgt. Jeffery Scott.
Plainclothes and uniformed officers will patrol parking lots looking for auto burglars, Scott said.
"We are asking that people secure valuables prior to arriving at the stadium," Scott said.
JPD will rearrange the schedules of officers working the game to keep overtime spending at a minimum, Scott said. An exact dollar amount on overtime was unavailable.
Traffic was a major problem for the NFL preseason game played in August, so the city is trying to provide more public transportation to Saturday's game.
Dan Pridgen, 59, a 1970 JSU grad, said it was imperative that JSU fans get there early because so many Southern fans are expected. "You have to get out here and get a spot because Southern University, they're going to bring about 30,000 people to this game," said Pridgen, a retired school administrator.
He said tailgating at a JSU game is like no other experience.
"We do it every weekend," he said. "It's fun - you and your friends. It's all about the camaraderie."
For others, tailgating is all about making money.
"We charge people five dollars to park up in here," said Gary Grant, 51, who lives on Lorenz Boulevard, just a block away from the stadium.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff writer David Brandt contributed to this story.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061013/NEWS/610130379/1001/news
ADVERTISEMENT
Pre-game, tailgating is fans' favorite sport
By Richard Lake
[email protected]
And Andrew Nelson
[email protected]
Vickie D. King/The Clarion-Ledger
Thursday afternoon isn't too early to show up for a Saturday night football game - not when you're talking about tailgating, not when you're talking about Jackson State versus Southern University.
"I'm late," declared JSU fan James Gray as he set up his homemade barbecue grill in the north parking lot of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium shortly after lunch Thursday.
"I'm usually in the front," said Gray, 49, a 1978 JSU grad and an electrician in Jackson. "Now look where I am." His setup was in the second row in the lot, behind a few canopies that others had already set up.
Fans began lining up their RVs, tents and giant grills outside the stadium Thursday morning. The game starts at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Jackson Police Department is encouraging fans to arrive early, because Saturday afternoon traffic around the stadium is expected to be nightmarish.
There is limited parking near the stadium, a Jackson Police Department news release said. Therefore, fans should give themselves enough time to find a place to park.
About 50,000 fans are expected for Saturday's game.
Seven gates - with two turnstiles at each - will be open for fans to enter the stadium, including a student gate, said Watt Whatley, the stadium's director.
JPD officers will patrol the area in and around the stadium, along with troopers from the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and deputies from the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, said Sgt. Jeffery Scott.
Plainclothes and uniformed officers will patrol parking lots looking for auto burglars, Scott said.
"We are asking that people secure valuables prior to arriving at the stadium," Scott said.
JPD will rearrange the schedules of officers working the game to keep overtime spending at a minimum, Scott said. An exact dollar amount on overtime was unavailable.
Traffic was a major problem for the NFL preseason game played in August, so the city is trying to provide more public transportation to Saturday's game.
Dan Pridgen, 59, a 1970 JSU grad, said it was imperative that JSU fans get there early because so many Southern fans are expected. "You have to get out here and get a spot because Southern University, they're going to bring about 30,000 people to this game," said Pridgen, a retired school administrator.
He said tailgating at a JSU game is like no other experience.
"We do it every weekend," he said. "It's fun - you and your friends. It's all about the camaraderie."
For others, tailgating is all about making money.
"We charge people five dollars to park up in here," said Gary Grant, 51, who lives on Lorenz Boulevard, just a block away from the stadium.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff writer David Brandt contributed to this story.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061013/NEWS/610130379/1001/news