Monday, September 18, 2000
Police: Highlands, not Bengals, to blame
Safety concerns prompted officials to admit fans free
By Tom O'Neill
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The question was why and the answer was The Who.
On Saturday, thousands of football fans were stuck outside the Highlands-Elder game after kickoff time at Paul Brown Stadium — and later were admitted free.
On Sunday, a Cincinnati police lieutenant said he and Bengals security officials made the decision to open the gates because of concern that fans in line — slowed by inadequate ticket sales staff — would crash the gates.
That would have been a scene reminiscent of the tragic 1979 Who concert in Cincinnati in which 11 people were killed.
“That was on my mind. I was a teen when that happened,” said police Lt. James Whalen, who was in charge of District 1 Saturday. “It was tough because I knew it was going to impact the schools. But everybody agreed. There was no way we'd put financial concerns above safety.”
Staffing the ticket booths, Lt. Whalen said, was the responsibility of officials at Highlands High School, the home team. The game was initially scheduled at Highlands' home field, which seats 5,000 fans. About 35,000 fans showed up Saturday night.
Only about five ticket booths were open Saturday. Tickets were priced at $14. Some fans mistakenly thought ticket sales were the Bengals' responsibility.
“They (Highlands) were unable to garner enough volunteers (to work the booths),” Lt. Whalen said. “7:30 (game time) to 7:50 was the time we were trying to get staffing into the windows, but they couldn't do it.”
Dale Mueller, Highlands athletic director and football coach, could not be reached for comment Sunday.
It was unclear Sunday how the incident might affect future high school games at Paul Brown. The Highlands-Elder game, a matchup of local powerhouses, was the first at the stadium.
Saturday's crowd story
Complete prep football coverage at Enquirer.com/prepfootball
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