NFL party with booze could draw protesters

Folks unhappy with the city’s decision to allow alcohol in a roped-off section of the National Football League’s Pro Bowl Beach Stadium party at Queen’s Surf Beach today and Saturday are expected to voice their objections during the event.

Honolulu Parks Director Michele Nekota on Thursday approved a one-time exception for the NFL and its partners to serve alcohol at the private event, which is part of the larger, public party — in advance of Sunday’s Pro Bowl game — that is expected to draw 10,000 people a day.

Following that action, city Liquor Control Administrator Franklin Don Pacarro said he approved a request by the nonprofit S.H.A.K.A. Foundation Inc. for a special license to serve alcohol to up to 200 sponsors, VIPs and other invited guests at any given time from 7 to 10 p.m. under a tent, 60 by 40 feet, that is in a cordoned-off area within the larger public party. The license states specifically that alcohol can be served but not sold.

John Shockley of the Free Access Coalition said he will try to rally members of his group as well as the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society, the Oahu Island Parks Conservancy and the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board and others to hold signs protesting the city’s decision.

“We’ll try to get some boots on the ground” in an attempt to let event organizers and city officials know there is opposition to the idea of private, VIP-only drinking areas within a public beach in seeming conflict with a decades-old ordinance barring alcohol from being consumed at city parks and beaches, Shockley said.

Nekota said in a news release that while she is granting the exception sought by the NFL, she is “at this time” rejecting a proposed rule change that would allow up to four private events to be granted licenses to serve alcohol annually at the Waikiki beach and possibly elsewhere.

Both Shockley and Linda Wong, vice chairwoman of the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board, said they are worried that the one-time exception will set a precedent that will allow other events where alcohol can be consumed at a public beach or park.

City Council Chairman Ernie Martin also expressed disappointment at the city action. Allowing alcohol consumption at a corporate event on a public beach “sets a bad precedent that could lead to similar requests from those seeking to use public facilities for their own purpose,” he said in a statement. “To make an exception to the rule for special interests, even for a popular organization like the NFL, is to undermine public confidence in equal treatment under the law.”

Councilman Trevor Ozawa, who represents Waikiki, said in a statement that “calls and emails that I and my office received from constituents and others were all in opposition to the rule change, citing fairness, the need to keep public spaces for public use, and the potential issues arising from such a rule change.”

The city received strong opposition to the rule change proposal, which officials said was requested by groups, including the NFL, that hold events at the beach.

A majority of those who testified on the proposed rules opposed them, Nekota said. “DPR considered and found valid comments on both sides,” she said. “After reviewing all the testimony, DPR has decided not to go forward with the rules as drafted at this time.”

However, Nekota noted that city laws allow for exceptions, like the one requested by the NFL and its partners, to be granted so long as organizers receive a proper license from the Liquor Commission and abide by the rules and conditions of that permit.

Nekota said other conditions would need to be followed by organizers to address public health, safety and security. According to the liquor license application, the organizers hold liability insurance of $5 million with the city listed as “additionally insured.” The larger event is to be staffed by 50 security personnel.

Pacarro, liquor control administrator, said he received the request for a special- event liquor license by S.H.A.K.A. on Thursday afternoon and granted it a few hours later.

Pacarro said because a nonprofit made the request, approval could be made administratively instead of needing the OK of the commission, which meets every Thursday.

The commission receives about 50 requests for special nonprofit licenses each month, and all that meet requirements are generally approved expediently, Pacarro said. “If we denied it, we would be treating them differently than others,” he said.

The nonprofit Hawaii Beach Volleyball Association submitted a request for a one-event liquor license for the two days at Queen’s Surf more than a week ago, but Pacarro said he could not process it until the Parks Department cleared the way for alcohol to be served.

Instead of the beach volleyball association, however, a separate application was submitted by the S.H.A.K.A. group. The application states that any proceeds are to benefit the group. On its website,the group describes itself as dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide “through education, awareness and support.”

An NFL spokesman earlier told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the league was putting on the larger public beach event at Queen’s regardless of whether it received approval for the private alcohol-serving portion. The NFL has put out a brochure on nfl.com describing details of the event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and Saturday.