April 29: Don’t spike the Six-Man
Don’t spike the Six Man
Editor’s note: The following comments were posted at EasyReaderNews.com in response to “No alcohol at 6 Man, fees to increase,” which appeared in the ER April 8, 2010. The Manhattan Beach City council is scheduled to address the issue at its Tuesday, May 4 meeting.
Show some respect
The police could make hundreds of arrest, but they want everyone to have a good time and just not get out of control. Many people vomit and urinate on property owners’ homes, streets and businesses. The stores in downtown Manhattan Beach might as well be closed that day because there is no parking, and people are in town just to go to the 6-man. I’ve been attending 6-man since 1978, and watched it grow. We love this event and don’t want to see it disappear. We just don’t want the riots of Huntington Beach on our hands. Please be respectful of the town, home owners and shops.
Local gal
Embrace it
I’m a Phoenix native who started playing volleyball when I was 15. My high school coach would tell amazing stories about the Manhattan Beach Six Man. I’d heard about this legendary tournament for years. I played in my first in 2008, and I honestly must say it is the greatest time I’ve ever had. Manhattan Beach should be so lucky as to be able to attract 60,000 plus in a single weekend. I think the city is looking at it from the wrong perspective. Why not embrace it. I’m sure many city governments would kill for a chance to attract that many people in one weekend to their city. I want to see the revenue hike 6 man brings to the city of Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach for the weekend. It’s gotta be a pretty decent. They should be proud that the tournament has turned into an epic, nationwide attraction. Just adapt your plans to accommodate. You can’t tell me 60,000 people flocking to a city on one weekend doesn’t produce some positive revenue. Why do you think cities bid for the Superbowl? Trust me, I’ve seen what both MB and HB look like the night of 6-man. Every bar and restaurant is jam packed with people, not to mention all the hotels are booked. That sounds like a successful weekend to me. The random drunken a-holes and retards doing stupid things are going to occur, regardless. You can find that on any Saturday night. Long live 6 man.
Scott Warren
So, what’s the problem
Over 60,000 spectators and only 8 arrests? I don’t understand how this is a big deal. People are here to have fun and enjoy volleyball, Get over it MB.
Tara
Charge
Why not charge $5 admission? That will cut out the casual partiers and generate the income the city needs to properly police the event.
Ed Chan
Coastal commission rules
Those who suggest charging money to go onto a public beach better check the Local Coastal Plan and also with the Coastal Commission of the State of California. It’s a “no-brainer” that it’s a public resource down there, not to be commercialized for a big beach party. It’s a great time and a classic, but like Sand Dune Park, it’s gotten way out of hand and over publicized. The event is on its last legs.
South Bay local
Get it done
As someone who attends the 6-man tourney every year, it is very simple to see why the city is worried about this. The tournament has degraded from a wholesome exhibition of volleyball to a corporate-sponsored mess complete with excessive drinking and shameless jeering at players. I’m all for “talking crap” at the courts, but when you get thousands of drunk revelers screaming in the faces of athletes, something’s gotta give. Fights have broken out before and with only 50 officers covering the whole area, stopping fights before they reach massive, uncontrollable levels is next to impossible. The city does need crowd control: more officers and more space would allow for less elbow-to-elbow crowding and a greater ability of the officers to maintain control of the situation. Banning the booze on the beach isn’t necessary, but charge 5 bucks for an entrance wristband. Even if a bunch of people walk around the barriers or sneak in, you’ll still make thousands in revenues – enough to cover the added cost of an increased police force.
Santa Barbara County has the same problem with Halloween every year. It costs them approximately $1 million to police the drunken partiers. Let’s learn from this, and find ways to pay for and ensure the events safety.
I love the 6-man, but it needs some changes. Banning drinking on the beach will only incite binge drinking at the houses/bars before people head down, so it’s not going to work. Expand the area of the tournament to spread out the crowd. Rope off the beach and charge 5 dollars for entrance. Bring in extra cops for crowd control. It’s not that hard. We can still make this work.
Aaron
Agent provocateur
“We simply don’t have the manpower if people incite a potential riot.” I think I heard this same type of talk in our nation’s capital only the term was “Crisis.” The only riot that would take place is if they canceled the tournament.
Greg M.
Call in the Irish
There are more arrests on one Saint Patrick’s Day than at five 6-Man events. I hope the city is not thinking of fabricating a riot to prove their point. Please don’t pull a Bush.
Court 1
VB players don’t riot
Limiting the alcohol would likely limit the crowds significantly. Raising tournament fees is a very bad idea for volleyball in general. It will discourage the people we really want to attend – people like me. The likelihood of a riot is negligible. There are far too many level-headed volleyball athletes in the mix who would strongly support any needed police action; and veteran volleyball players tend to be self-policing and have the respect and command of those watching. If Charlie Saikley Jr. or anyone of the many veteran players at the tourney had an issue, 100 respecting players like me would be at their disposal – not to mention their 6-foot-5 teammates. Limit the alcohol, embrace the high-level teams.
David
Rich man’s game
While this is a Manhattan Beach event, raising the fees limits regular players who simply cannot afford the money. Even $600 is $100 per person plus costume and other costs. Some teams are forced to have 10 or 12 players just to control the cost. Raising the fees will mean that only the richer teams can join in. The problem with crowds and drinking gets worse in the early afternoon. If they could somehow limit access so no one can enter after 2 p.m. a lot of the hooligans would be kept out.
Evan
No brainer
$10 spectator fee. $20 drinking wristband. Thins crowds and raises $1 million in revenue. No brainer.
Feelix
Do the math
A riot did you say? When has there ever been a riot at 6-man? There hasn’t been and never will be. Really, reducing the number of attendees? Don’t the businesses in the area make millions off this weekend from the crowd that attends, and in turn, the damn city makes a ton of money in taxes from this crowd. Why don’t you use the extra tax monies generated from the crowd to pay for the extra police. Let’s see, your figures expect increases of 20,000 people, and those 20,000 spend money on food and alcohol at local stores. I’m sure the taxes alone on this weekend generate enough to pay for the added police, you greedy bastards.
Who is this fee increase really going to? 200 teams at the former $600 = $120,000. A raise to $1,200 puts it at $240,000. Off the aggregate taxes you are getting from the attendees, you can’t reallocate some of the tax dollars to the police, because we damn well know that the city is making a lot more than $120,000 off the taxes on sales from the weekend alone.
Why don’t we just cut the event altogether and see how much the city cries from lack of funds. Better idea, why don’t we cut all events completely, because there’s a risk of riot, and see how quickly the city goes bankrupt.
Ryan
Self policing
It’s been a credit to the volleyball community that no riots have occurred. I believe that since so many advertisers have come in people not associated with volleyball have come to associate the event with a party. Volleyball athletes are self-policing. What about fencing off the beach all the way to the ocean. Charge a considerable amount for a ticket ($40 approx per person possibly. Since teams pay a several hundred dollar registration fee, give them a large number of admission passes (100 approximately). These “players passes” would have the team’s name on them to hold people and teams liable. With passes the volleyball community can enjoy the tournament while spectators help cover security and the city’s profit. We all know that local businesses and the city do well financially by having the 6-man tournament.
Polski Cowboy
Wishful thinking
Has Manhattan councilmember Nick Tell explained to anyone how he calculated that 80,000 people will be attending the event this year? A 25 percent jump in one year sounds like a pretty ambitious estimate in my opinion.
BeeVee
OC by way of Phoenix
I am a Phoenix resident soon to be an OC resident and I have been playing in this tournament since 2001. All I have to say is “Long live the 6-man.” 60,000 people is a lot of revenue in that city for just one weekend. There will always be drunken idiots. Usually the drunken idiots are not the competitive volleyball players. The cops are just being greedy bastards and need to suck it up for one busy weekend and get over it.
Felicia Sardella
It’s cool
So I can still bring weed, right?
Scoots
Unappreciative, undeserving
Move it to Hermosa, or Redondo, or El Segundo. Why should Manhattan businesses get all the revenue? Go somewhere you’re wanted… No fees, no fences, no unneeded security, no more hidden taxes. Limit the alcohol, the problems are gone.
David
It’s their job
This is the police department’s way of double dipping. They get paid regardless of whether there is an event or not. They shouldn’t have the right to ask for more money for doing their jobs. The fees are insane. If they keep asking for money from events, why even bother to pay taxes? Seriously, police department, you are losing your clout for the next time you want your cushy benefits. Fees are extortion.
Ryan
Local respect
The city is not double dipping. They need to pay overtime to have all of the extra police. As a lifelong local, I tend to agree with scaling back the event, at least until it falls under the radar. Too many out of towners trashing the beach and not respecting the local community.
Shawn
Mild by comparison
Charge a $10 entry fee and $20 for a drinking wristband. We travel to this event every year and it wouldn’t be the same if you changed it. The crowds can be a bit overbearing, I agree, but I’ve been to many other large events that are way worse than the 6-man in terms of people drinking and being stupid. Live on 6-man!
Allison
Learn from Huntington’s history
Control it, Fence it and Charge it for spectators and alcohol. Donate 20 percent to charity. I remember the Huntington Beach Surf riot of the ’80s because of the bikini contest (100,000 people). They should have controlled, fenced and charged, but instead listened to the sponsors, who wanted a larger crowd. As a result there were hundreds of thousands of dollars in riot damage. No more bikini contest for the Huntington Pro.
Scott
Bigger is better
Only eight arrests means that there aren’t a bunch of lushes walking around being idiots. I think the biggest problem is the limited space and the poor mobility. From a numbers perspective it is the biggest day of the year for the sport of volleyball, worldwide, something that I’m sure the city and the Saikley family take tremendous pride in, and something local businesses generate a lot of revenue from. I say go bigger. Open up the north side of the pier on Saturday, and bring in a lot more public restrooms. Let’s meet in the middle on an increase in entry fee.
Jim
Riot math
8 arrests/60,000 people x 100% = 0.01333% arrest rate. Hardly verging on a riot. Probably have more arrests at a Dodger’s game.
King
If it’s not broken
The current fees ought to cover bringing in adequate security. Let’s not tamper too much with the best sporting event in the world.
David Fisher
Don’t tarnish tradition
I’ve been a resident of this city since 1993. I’ve been to the 6-man almost every year. It’s a key part of my upbringing. I understand the extra police presence to deal with the ever growing numbers of this event. But come on MBPD, you need to just look outside your small, local department and just get some other agencies to help with the eight arrests that you guys will make this year, if that. The tournament has become a local economy boomer. Residents need to realize that we’re not tarnishing a proud tradition, we’re making it possible for other people to enjoy the Surf Festival. I don’t see doubling of entry fees when everyone is hurting in these times. If that’s your way of keeping it to the few who can afford the increase, then you’re the one’s tarnishing it.
Ryan Job