Booze banned in dressing rooms at Stephenville rink: Drunk driving a concern

Dressing rooms at the Stephenville arena are going dry, and the man in charge of the rink is defending the ban on booze.

Bob Byrnes said that move came about after he discovered more than 100-dozen empty beer bottles stacked in the dressing rooms of the Stephenville Dome, the leftovers of post-game celebrations from October 2015 to January of this year.

"I started asking questions, and apparently it's been no secret up around there: there are people actually drinking in the dressing rooms and they go out and they drive home," Byrnes, the chair of the Stephenville Gardens Commission which runs the Dome, said.

"I said 'OK, this is not happening anymore, we're doing away with this.'"

Byrnes said while the empties cause some concern for the arena's insurance, the real heart of the matter is much more serious.

"Drinking and driving — this is the big issue with us. It's not so much drinking in the dressing room, we have people leaving that stadium that are impaired by alcohol."

Pushback to the ban

Byrne said the ban became "a major controversy" during a meeting Monday with Dome user groups like figure skaters and hockey leagues. He said two representatives from hockey leagues objected loudly to the change.

"There was pushback, yeah. One person in particular said to me, 'how are you going to stop us?'"

Byrnes couldn't believe the opposing logic put forward at the meeting.

It's hard to believe in this day and age you have people who are actually thinking like this.- Bob Byrnes

"They just didn't seem to get it. It's like a tradition. Well, if that's a tradition, that people are going to be drinking and driving, then I have a major problem with it," said Byrnes.

"I'm only sorry I didn't tape this, because it's hard to believe in this day and age you have people who are actually thinking like this, it's crazy."

The City of Corner Brook has a similar ban on booze in locker rooms at its Civic Centre.

Byrne said while other arenas in the province, such as the one in Paradise, are totally dry venues, the Dome is not going down that road at the moment and will maintain its liquor licence, used for special events. 

However, anyone caught drinking in a locker room with be banned from the stadium, and Byrne has instructed staff to phone the RCMP if they see anyone driving away from the stadium after suspected drinking.