The walkways inside Tiger Stadium should be less crowded Sept. 8 as fewer fans will be lining the fences to catch a nicotine fix.
As of Jan. 1, the Louisiana Smoke Free Air Act prohibited smoking inside the venue. The Tigers’ game against Virginia Tech will be the first affected under the new law.
According to statute La. R.S. 40: 1300.252, all public buildings are completely smoke free. Since LSU is a state instutition, all athletic facilities on campus are considered public buildings.
“We understand this will be an inconvenience to our patrons who smoke, but we must abide by state law,” Athletic Director Skip Bertman said in his August Cyber-Side Chat.
Bertman said Southeastern Conference rules do not allow fans to leave and re-enter the stadium during a game, so once a fan has presented his or her ticket at the gate, they are prohibited from smoking unless they leave permanently.
Previously, fans were allowed to smoke in the building’s concourses but were prohibited from smoking in seating areas. Ben Abbott, history junior and former smoker, said the ban is understandable since the majority of people do not smoke.”I don’t think the majority of people should have to suffer smelling like smoke, which is disgusting, like the minority want to do,” he said. “It’s a disgusting habit, and it gives you cancer. Who wants to hang out around that?”
Courtney Carter, an architecture freshman who said she smokes occasionally, said the ban is not a big deal since smoking was not allowed in most of the stadium in past years.
“But it is a free country,” she said. “If you want to [smoke], you have the right to.”
Criminology junior Meagan Grubb said the ban is considerate for nonsmokers. Despite being a smoker, she said she appreciates why the law is in place.
“I think that smokers should respect others that don’t smoke,” she said. “I have a lot of non-smoking friends, and I’m not really cool with sitting next to them and blowing smoke in their faces.”
Alex Box Stadium, Tiger Park, the LSU Soccer Complex, Bernie Moore Track Stadium and W. T. “Dub” Robinson Tennis Stadium are also affected by the statute.
Before January, smoking was prohibited in all LSU indoor facilities, including the PMAC, Carl Maddox Fieldhouse and the LSU Natatorium.
Individual game tickets for the seven 2007 home games have sold out, according to an e-mail sent out by the LSU Ticket Office.
Tickets are still available for the Sept. 29 Tulane game at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
Tickets for that game are $40 each and can be purchased at the LSU ticket office or online at LSUsports.net.
—-Contact Krysten Oliphant at [email protected]