Yesterday, Thursday May 17, 2001, the bill known as the “Improving Personal Safety at Stadiums Act”, passed The California State Assembly unanimously with 72 votes. With the ever growing number of incidents of fan violence, this is great news for Sports Fans statewide.
AB2464 would require all professional sports venues to post Game Day hotlines and Security Text Codes in designated areas throughout the stadiums and arenas, as well as parking lots. Currently, a majority of professional sports venues already have the Game Day Hotline and Text code program in place. Should this bill become a law, it would, by extension, require all sports venues to adopt this program.
Although AB2464 will not end Fan Violence in its entirety, it is a small step in the right direction. While sports venues have a major responsibility towards ensuring fan safety, Game Day Text Codes and Hotlines are great tools for Sports fans to take a proactive approach in their safety.
The next step for the “Improving Personal Safety at Stadiums Act”, will be to pass the State Senate then on to the Governor for signature. In speaking with Assemblyman Mike Gattos staff today, there was an air of reserved confidence that AB2464 will not be met with resistance through the State Senate. If it does indeed pass and is signed by the Governor, the law could come into effect as soon as January 1, 2013.
We at Fans Against Violence, encourage sports fans to get behind and show your support for AB2464. If you are interested is joining us in supporting this bill, please email us at info@fansagainstviolence.org.