Too much alcohol in sports stadiums?

'Dateline' undercover
This summer “Dateline” armed with hidden cameras went to major league baseball games in four different cities across the country.

The first stadium we went to is serviced by the Aramark concession company, the same company found liable for the drunk driving accident that paralyzed Antonia Verni.

Dateline undercover producer: Can I get three Coors?

Vendor: You can get two.

Dateline: Two is the most?

Vendor: Yeah.

Aramark vendors, you’ll remember, are only permitted to sell two beers per customer  per purchase...  and at this stadium are required to ID any customer appearing to be under the age of 40.

Vendor: ID please.

Dateline: Sure.

When our Dateline producers attempted to buy beer at this game, the majority of the time they were asked for proof of age, and whether ordering from their seats or from a beer stand — our producers were denied more than two beers per purchase.

There was one exception. One of our Dateline producers was served three beers without being ‘ID’ed — both violations of the stadium Aramark’s stated alcohol policy. Yet as the Dateline producer walks away with his three beers, the seller runs up to him.

The seller didn’t take the beer and offer to give us our money back—but he did carry it for a while... and then eventually gave it back to our undercover "Dateline."

Apart from that one infraction, Aramark seemed to be doing a good job enforcing stadium and company policy, including cutting off beer sales at the start of the 8^th inning.

And at another game we attended, at another stadium serviced by Aramark, the vendors again followed the rules.

Did that multi-million judgment against Aramark change the way the company does business?

In a letter to Dateline, an Aramark representative said, “Aramark continues to have the most rigorous policies in the industry for the safe service of alcohol.” 

But at two other stadiums where Dateline took its hidden cameras serviced by a different concession company, what we found was troubling.

The concessions at one stadium were operated by SportService— like Aramark, a large concession company that handles sales of alcohol at stadiums and arenas all over the U.S. But at the night game we attended, we observed SportService alcohol policies rarely being enforced.

Half of the time when our Dateline producer with the hidden camera asked for three beers for himself, he got them even though vendors are not permitted to sell someone more then two at one time. And while these beers are called “small,” each one is 24 ounces. So although our undercover producers drank none of the beer we purchased, with one trip to the concession stand, we walked away with the equivalent of a six pack. 

In one instance when our “Dateline” attempted to purchase three beers, the vendor at first refused.

Vendor: I can give two at a time.

But then one beer seller gave our “Dateline” two beers—and then a third for an imaginary guy behind him...

Vendor: Here is two for you and one for the guy behind you.

Time and time again we found SportService vendors who were either ignorant of the rules or simply choose to ignore them. 

And aside from the concessions, the drinking goes on long after the last pitch: our “Dateline” saw fans in the stadium parking lot after the game downing still more of their own beers  before getting into their cars and onto the road.

Our “Dateline” producers were repeatedly served beer in excess of the stated two beer limit at another stadium also serviced by the SportService concession company. And while we were refused more than two beers on occasion, more often we were able to buy more than two  and without being asked for ID. In fact, on two separate occasions, our undercover producers were permitted to purchase four beers for themselves. That's 8 cans worth of beer.

One of our producers purchased three glasses of wine for himself twice— from the same vendor. That's also a violation of SportService policy.

And remember unlike the man convicted of the drunk driving accident near Giants stadium, at no time did any of our producers offer vendors any bribes or tips for all that alcohol.

And once again, the drinking did not stop after the game as fans filtered, some staggering, out to the parking lots to drink beer they had brought themselves.

We sat down with a Rick Abramson, president of the SportService concession company to discuss what we found inside the stadiums serviced by his company.

Rick Abramson, president of SportService: You have to be responsible.  You know, sobriety is no accident.  We have to watch that each and every game.

He assured us his company has high standards on alcohol awareness. In fact, at a recent meeting of SportService general managers from across the country, they played a videotape of Antonia Verni to underscore the stakes of serving too much to the fans.

Abramson: It had an affect on me personally. If you see what happened to that young girl. That’s why we take it so seriously.

Magnus: How would you describe your company’s level of awareness about alcohol consumption?

Abramson: Oh its very high. You know, vendors take it very serious. It’s their livelihood. They realize the importance of it. If we catch somebody doing more then two beers ah, they’re in trouble.

He says SportService makes its employees sign an affidavit saying no serve someone who is visibly intoxicated— that it trains them to spot drunks— and that the company has undercover people to make sure its vendors follow the rules.

Magnus: How successful do you think you are in enforcing your policies?

Abramson: Well, I think we’re very successful.

Magnus: I have something to show you.

We played portions of our undercover video showing how, over and over, his employees served our Dateline producers too much beer in clear violation of company policy.

Magnus: Is that your uniform?

Abramson: That’s our uniform. This is not our policy.

Magnus: Were you surprised by what you saw?

Abramson: I was surprised, shocked and disappointed.

Magnus: We sent four different people to two different stadiums. And 18 separate times they were allowed to purchase in excess of the stated rules for alcohol.

Abramson: It’s just not acceptable. It’s upsetting for me to see somebody breaking the rules. And to see that much is very upsetting for me. We are gonna have to be more diligent with it.

SportService, like Aramark, is now on the receiving end of a lawsuit by Coach Tom Gamboa who claims he was injured by a father and son who’d been overserved by SportService during a baseball game in 2003. SportService says the father and son alone are liable for his injuries.

David Mazie, attorney for the Verni family, says the Vernis believe stadiums should have only a dry tailgate— a one beer per purchase maximum— and random sobriety checkpoints for people leaving stadiums to help insure there aren’t more Antonia Vernis.

David Mazie, attorney for the Verni family: People need to take responsibility for their own actions.  But once you become intoxicated you start losing your judgment. The server, the holder of the liquor license has to serve responsibly.

Antonia, now 8 years old, is not terribly concerned with alcohol policies or who’s to blame for how she ended up.  Her father says she knows only that long ago, somebody hit her and hurt her.

Ronald Verni: She had said to a nurse, I remember I used to be able to walk. When she’s playing with her friends, they’ll see that, they’ll say, “Oh you can’t walk.” She goes, “Well, I can pretend. Or I could imagine.”

As their multi-million dollar victory is being appealed by Aramark, the Vernis have received no money for their daughter’s round the clock care. Antonia can’t move her arms or legs. She can’t eat enough to sustain herself with a feeding tube, and can’t breathe without the aid of a ventilator.

Fazila Verni: I would not wish this on my worst enemy.  It’s very, very hard.

Still, the child is amazingly upbeat: She likes Barbie books, Dr. Seuss, and singing. 

Magnus:  What would you like to be when you grow up?

Antonia Verni: Three things:  A kindergarten teacher, a singer, and a ballerina.

Doctors tell the Vernis that Antonia has a 50/50 chance to live to her mid-40s.

Magnus: Do you know how you ended up in this chair?

Antonia Verni: No.

Magnus: You don’t wanna know?

Antonia Verni: No.

Magnus: And why is that?

Antonia Vernia: Because.  Well, I was born happy, I always stay happy.

When contacted by “Dateline,” the owners of Miller Park and Busch Stadium both said they have programs in place to enforce their alcohol policies and that any violations of their alcohol policies are unacceptable.

In the years since Antonio was left paralyzed by the drunk driver from Giants stadium, the New Jersey Police Department that responded was apparently so affected by the crash, it has made the highest number of drunk driving arrests per officer in the state.

MORE FROM DATELINE

Dateline Section Front

The Secret Life of Tiger Woods The Trial of Amanda Knox NBC's People of the Year: Read the interviews The Night Mary Jane Disappeared The Friday the 13th Mystery Mystery at Lost Dog Road Slideshow: Photos in the Bob Duke case When The Smoke Clears   Sneak peek: When The Smoke Clears Slideshow: The Christie Fleming murder Dateline Section Front   Add Dateline headlines to your news reader: