A question about sports stadium regulations

[Asimovian]

I’ve been going to Dodger games since I was about 10 years old, and for as long as I can remember, having signs or banners at Dodger Stadium has been prohibited. Every so often, this irks me, and I try to remember to ask someone at the stadium why this is. I usually get an “I don’t know,” but on two occasions that I can recall, the answer was that it was related to fire marshall regulations. I’ve never gotten any more detail than that. My WAG has been that it has something to do with the stadium’s unique location in a ravine in the hills of LA, but I’m still not sure why that’s important.

So I have three questions:

1. Does anyone know with any specificity why Dodger Stadium prohibits signs and banners?

2. Are there other sports stadiums out there that have the same prohibition?

3. Are there unique regulations/prohibitions at other stadiums that are specific to the geography of the surrounding area?

Thanks, Dopers!

[BobT]

Dodger Stadium prohibits signs and banners because the Fire Marshal does not allow them. The LA Fire Department is pretty strict on things like that. They don’t allow banners at the Coliseum either.

Banners are allowed to a limited extent in Anaheim. I’m not sure about San Diego, Oakland, or San Francisco.

[BobT]

I also was going to add that back in the day, the fire marshal would not allow the Los Angeles Rams give out free pom pons to their fans because they weren’t flame retardant.

[Cyberhwk]

Sorry to hijack, but perhaps you could help me to. Is it true there is no player intro music at Dodger Stadium? I heard people complained that they couldn’t hear the radio announcer through their headsets so they stopped that too.

[Jeff_Lichtman]

@BobT

I’m not sure about San Diego, Oakland, or San Francisco.

Banners are allowed at Oakland A’s games. From their web site:

Management reserves the right to remove any signs or banners at any time. Signs and banners may be hung during the A’s games as long as:
[ul]
[li]They do not obstruct the site line of another Guest.[/li][li] They are not in the field of play.[/li][li] They do not cover up any existing signage.[/li][li] They are not commercial in nature.[/li][li] They are not paraded around the stadium.[/li][/ul] .

[RealityChuck]

Shea Stadium allows banners (which is appropriate, since banners were an early hallmark of Mets fans):

Can I bring a sign into Shea with me?
Fans are welcome to bring signs into the stadium to show support for their favorite player or team. Signs may not be hung in fair territory or block the view of any fan. In addition, signs and banners may be carried through the stands between innings only. Fans are not permitted to post or carry their banners on levels or in areas other than where their ticket admits them. The Mets reserve the right to remove banners containing inappropriate or commercial messages.

Same for Yankee Stadium:

BANNERS & SIGNS
Banners and signs are permitted, provided they are baseball-related, in good taste and not of a commercial nature. Banners and signs may not exceed three feet in height, obstruct the view of other Guests and ballpark advertising signage, or be temporarily or permanently affixed to the building structure. Banners may be carried through the stands between innings only. The Yankees reserve the right to remove any banner or sign. Banners and signs may not be displayed in fair territory.

[Asimovian]

@Cyberhwk

Sorry to hijack, but perhaps you could help me to. Is it true there is no player intro music at Dodger Stadium? I heard people complained that they couldn’t hear the radio announcer through their headsets so they stopped that too.

No worries about the hijack, but that’s completely false. I went to several Dodger games this year, including our sole playoff home game, and there was most certainly player introduction music. For example, Nomar Garciaparra was always introduced to “Low Rider,” and depending on the situation, Jeff Kent often had “Iron Man” playing as he stepped to the plate.

My recollection is that the intro music started about four years ago at Dodger Stadium, but I could be wrong.