Cesar A. Vasquez
FIU Student
I was happy to attend the FIU Panthers’ first home game of the year against N.C. Central, which was a great victory for the team but I was unfortunate enough discover a major logistical flaw following the victory which led to a very unsafe situation for many of the people attending the game. My group entered the stadium through Gate 7 on the north side of the stadium after parking in the Tamiami Park area just east of the stadium and south of Lot 6 near the Cuban memorial. Upon exiting, we exited through Gate 7 and were told that the access road leading back to the parking area was blocked off and that we’d have to go around Lot 6. Several dozen people were told this and began walking to the far end of Lot 6. The length of Lot 6 is longer than the entire length of the stadium, and along the way, there are two gates on the south side of the fence which lead to the parking area, but these were closed and chained with locks.
At the far end of Lot 6 right near the Performing Arts Center, we discovered all the gates and access ways to the park were similarly locked and there was no way to get around Lot 6 to our vehicles. Several people on the other side of the gates were also trying to get around to our side for similar reasons including one very elderly lady who had walked the entire distance on unpaved terrain. There was a police officer in a golf cart at this end but he was unable to help because he did not have the key to open the gates, so the only solution seemed to be to either climb the fence or walk all the way back to the stadium to try to cross again.
At this point, several people began trying to climb the fences, and I personally witnessed one young man climb over the south gate of Lot 6 in an extremely unsafe manner to get into Lot 6 from the other side. When a group of us walked back to the west end of Lot 6 near the stadium, we were again told that we could not cross because of the buses that were parked there. We were again told that we’d have to go around Lot 6, but when we pointed out that those gates were all locked and that some people attempted to climb the fence, I was referred to Jose, a supervisor with the Andy Frain Company who simply reiterated that the access road was closed.
When I pointed out that this had caused several people to attempt to climb over the fences after walking the whole length of the lot, he then claimed we’d been told we could either go around or wait. This was not true as initially everyone was simply told to simply walk around Lot 6. The representatives from the Andy Frain Company seem to have been completely unaware that all the gates were closed before they directed dozens of people to go around Lot 6. He then said that anyone climbing the fences was doing so on their own accord and the Andy Frain Company would not be held responsible for any injuries this might cause (which was fair, but irrelevant).
I asked if there was any way to get across to the parking south of Lot 6, including going through the stadium, and was told that there was no way – everyone on this side of the stadium would simply have to wait until the road was re-opened. One member of my group was eventually able to access our car and drove it around the back entrance to the University to pick us up about fifteen minutes later, at which time I saw people still waiting to get through. I do not know how long they eventually waited, or how many people finally ended up climbing over the fences, but at least half an hour after the game ended this road was still closed.
In my opinion, this is a major failure by both the Andy Frain Company and the responsible department at FIU, one that could have led to injuries and could have been very easily avoided. I understand the University’s need to re-work access to the stadium during and after games, but this was obviously not thought through adequately. If the access road east of the Stadium is to be closed off to pedestrian traffic right after the game, the gates on the south part of Lot 6 leading to the parking area should be opened up to allow people to walk around and access their vehicles.
Alternately, people should be notified in advance of exiting through one of the northern gates of the stadium that they won’t be able to cross to the parking area and should be directed to exit through one of the southern gates to avoid this problem. The failureto make this simple arrangement led to many FIU fans being unable to access their cars for a very long time and led to many people putting themselves in potential danger by trying to climb over a very high fence. The Andy Frain Company’s lack of coordination with the University, their nonchalant attitude about the situation they’d caused and their refusal to attempt to do anything to accommodate fans was an additional failure. That nobody was injured as a result of this was, in my opinion, simply a matter of luck. It is my hope that this deficiency will be addressed in time for the next home game so that fans of FIU football will not have to suffer the consequences.
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