While Northgate Music Festival fans enjoyed the music at the main stage on the promenade, they were also able to enjoy something usually prohibited in that area - a cold beer. This month marks the second anniversary of a College Station ordinance banning open containers and alcohol consumption outside establishments in the Northgate district, but a special exception for events permitted open containers purchased within the designated area around the main stage this weekend, police officials said.
"The provision allows for certain events to offer alcohol to patrons," said Scott McCollum, assistant chief of the College Station Police Department. "The person would have to rope off and designate an area for serving alcohol, obtain a temporary Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission license and provide security for the event."
Most of the festival stages inside Northgate bars were unaffected by the ban, but festival-goers wanting to see Sister Hazel, Ingram Hill and Flickerstick on the main stage had to stay within the roped-off drinking area. Police officers patrolled the scene, but actual security of the festival was maintained by the Brazos Valley Sheriff's Office.
"We find that the music festival has been great, and it's just business as usual for us," said Lt. Mark Langwell, public information officer of the College Station Police Department. "Our only concern is controlling pedestrian traffic on College Main."
Sheriff's deputies and TABC officials were on hand to deal with violations, said Chief Deputy Jim Mann.
"Our guys sign up for the festival as an off-duty assignment," Mann said. "I don't recall any significant issues."
But the 2-year-old outdoor drinking ban remains a conflict with students and business owners.
"The ban actually hurt Northgate," said Jamie Scott, a senior poultry science major. "I disagreed with the ban when they first considered it and actually went to the council meetings to protest. The crowd management reasoning for it was unfounded, since now it's too crowded inside the bars."
Concerns for safety and sanitation prompted the council to pass the ban with a unanimous vote, despite pleas for reconsideration by local business owners and College Station residents.
"We were seeing a significant number of crimes in the Northgate area, mainly assaults and alcohol-related incidents," McCollum said. "We also had a multitude of public health issues with people urinating and vomiting in public, so we just had to do something. Since implementing it, we've seen a dramatic improvement of conditions on Northgate. Additional bars have opened, existing bars have expanded and now the area is much safer and cleaner."
Despite the benefits, some students feel the ordinance is overbearing and unnecessary.
"I do think there should be a limit to drinking outside, but it shouldn't be so extreme that people can't carry their beer between bars," said Justin Zwick, a junior aerospace engineering major. "I can understand not taking alcohol into the streets or residential neighborhoods, but the block is meant to be a drinking area."
Some businesses, like The Dixie Chicken, have been negatively impacted by the regulations on drinking on the promenade.
"In the beginning, we saw a drop in our sales," said Katy Jackson, co-owner of The Chicken. "We don't have a liquor license, just a beer and wine license, so our customers could buy a beer and take it outside. When the city builds something as good as the promenade, we think people should be able to eat, drink and enjoy the area. We ended up taking out a storage room to make more seating on our back porch."
The ban on alcohol on the promenade is not perpetually written in the law books, but the nature of visitors to Northgate have required its implementation.
"We evaluate the ban on a regular basis," McCollum said. "We have a constant turnover of students, so self-policing and responsible drinking behavior is not the reality. Due to the significant improvements, I don't expect returning back to the other way, but it is a possibility."
Despite the temporary provision allowing open containers at the main stage of Northgate Music Festival, long after the sets are torn down and the amps are taken home, the city ordinance will remain.
"I definitely don't come to Northgate as much anymore," said Mandy Chambers, a senior agricultural communication and journalism major. "The ban ruined the spirit of Northgate a little bit."
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