Super Bowl Tailgating Banned at New Jersey Meadowlands
The CEO of the upcoming Super Bowl XLVIII announced Monday that tailgating will be banned from the 2014 sporting event at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey.
Super Bowl CEO Al Kelly announced Monday that all those attending the game, which will be held in February 2014, will not be allowed to partake in the football tradition of tailgating before the game, where people gather in the stadium's parking lot to drink and grill food before entering the stadium.
"You will be allowed to have food in your car and have drink in your car," Kelly announced, according to ESPNNewYork.com. "And provided you're in the boundaries of a single parking space, you'll be able to eat or drink right next to your car. However, you're not going to be able to take out a lounge chair, you're not going to be able to take out a grill, and you're not going to be able to take up more than one parking space. And it'll all be watched very carefully."
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This new rule is one of many recently introduced by the Super Bowl committee and NFL in preparation for the upcoming game. Organizers have also banned any unauthorized taxis from arriving at the stadium, forcing fans to either pay $51 to take the Fan Express charter bus, commute via an NJ Transit train or purchase a parking pass for the event. Walking to the event has also been banned.
"Nobody's going to be dropped off by black car," Kelly added to ESPN New York. "You can have a black car, a green car, a white car, a red car as long as you have parking, and the car needs to stay on the premises the entire time."
When elected to head the Super Bowl Host Committee in April 2011, Kelly, who was formerly the president of American Express, said the goal of the 2014 Super Bowl was to not only put on a good game but also create an advantageous economic situation for New Jersey.
"This is the biggest event on the biggest stage. I think it's more than just event planning," Kelly said. "I think this is about figuring out how to get the maximum economic impact for the New Jersey/New York area. I think it's about putting New York/New Jersey on the map as a go-to event for any event anyone is thinking about."
Sports commentators have also noted that the recent rules are necessary due to the Meadlowlands' tricky parking situation, which includes a limited number of parking spots for such a large event. For example, 80,000 people will be attending the 2014 Super Bowl, but only 13,000 parking spots are available on site to fans.
