The East Upper escalators quit about a half-hour before kick-off, about 3,000 fans had to get through the ramps at gate 20. I heard there were a few scuffles, yelling, throwin things at ticket takers, sounded like a semi-riot. Were any of you there?
I heard that a few people had to jump over a wall and a few were injured in the process. That escalator has been a major problem since its installation. With only one other option (the ramp) of reaching your seats, there are often problems on that side of the stadium. I'm not sure why they won't allow you to use the steps but that would alleviate some of the crowd problem. If you multiply the number of seats in the East Upper deck by the cost of each ticket, I think LSU or TAF have enough money to provide another way of reaching those seats. Another escalator that doesn't constantly break would be nice.
I heard about it during the game. However, the escalators were working fine right after that. It seems like every game they stop using them and say they broke. I dont buy it.
My Dad has serious heart condition with two prior by-pass surgeries. The escalators on the east side went out a few years ago and we were turned away from the elevators. Went up the ramps s.l.o.w.l.y. and got to our seats in the second quarter. I sent a vicious letter to the TAF president and Skip. I'm sure there were other complaints too but now very few people are refused a ride on the lifts.
I get leary with escalators at crowded stadiums. I was at the Dome for a Saints game many years ago with people piling on an escalator. There was a crowd where the escalator let off that wasn't moving. The escalator kept unloading more people into that crowd and it got quite uncomfortable. People getting on the escalator couldn't see the problem. I think some people got hurt. Incidents like that got the dome to turn off their escalators during rush time (right after the game). :shock:
I'm not quite certain where gate 20 to quote the great Mitch Hedberg: "I like an escalator, man, 'cause an escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. There would never be an "Escalator Temporarily Out of Order" sign, only "Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the Convenience." Or is the east upper too high for them to go down them?
Do you have much experience on the stairmaster at your local gym? Your average thick-in-the-middle Tiger fans, after a full day of tailgatin, are headin to the ramps.
That happened a few years ago at an Astros game at Minute Maid Park. The park was new, and folks inexplicably didn't notice that there was ANOTHER escalator right next to the other one. I must admit...watching the sheep stack up at the end as I rode THE OTHER one down was absolutely hysterical.
several years ago i was in DC and it (unfortunately) happened to be during the anniversary of the roe vs. wade decision and the right to lifers were out in a HUGE protest. they so overloaded one of the escalators at one of the metro stations right after their rally that the escalator collapsed and seriously injured a lot of people. i was on crutches at the time which slowed us down considerably or i probably would have been on it cause that was the one we were on our way to when it collapsed. i wonder if the escalator is being shut down for that reason? if so, why not post an attendent so that the riders are spaced apart on it and it does not get overloaded?
