DETROIT (WXYZ) — Tailgating at Eastern Market for Detroit Lions games is set to return on Sunday with new safety measures in place.
Some tailgaters like longtimer Jimmy Hoffa Smith said they welcome the new safety measures, while others said they are not too fond of them.
"I’m willing to see how it’s going to work out, so I can work out with them,” Smith said. “Because I need to be down here.”
Smith said he is excited to get back into the tailgating swing of things because up until the September incident where two people were shot and killed, he never saw many violent issues occur.
"It’s never been a lot of violence out of all the time I been here,” Smith said. “So, I am OK with the safety."
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On Sunday, Eastern Market says that all tailgating activities will resume. Katy Trudeau, a spokesperson for Eastern Market, says they are happy to bring it back.
"We're really excited to have tailgating return,” Trudeau said. “One thing we've heard in the last several weeks is that tailgating in Eastern Market is a really important experience for Lions fans and Detroiters. So we're really committed to bringing it back and we are really excited we are able to do so."
Trudeau said in an effort to bring the tailgating experience back, safety will be increased with new guidelines for tailgaters.
Those safety measures include new signage about the market being a weapon- and firearm-free zone and changes with the tailgating event itself.
"Depending on the start of the games, we changed the start time back about two hours,” Trudeau said. “So for a 1 o’clock game for instance, we will be starting tailgating at 9 a.m. now, where as previously, it was at 7 a.m.
“We’re also going to be selling the tickets in two parking spots at a time."
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Trudeau says that the two parking spots will help them control capacity and also keep people out of the driveways.
The new policy will also limit 10 people per reservation.
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Smith says he is unsure of how the new parking spot rule will work.
"It's going to be kind of hard to monitor 10 people per spot,” Smith said. “Because of how it's set up here. When you go to other places and tailgate at other places, their parking lot is bigger. We don't even have a parking lot for the Lions."
Another longtime Eastern Market tailgater, Deon Rushing, agrees with Smith. But he also thinks the market is charging a lot for tailgaters to come hang out.
"We want to be safe,” Rushing said. “But I just think how they are trying to monetize this is a little outrageous."
Eastern Market says they will be contacting all ticket holders for this Sunday’s sold-out tailgating event to make sure everyone is complying. For those who do not want to participate, the market says they will be issuing out full refunds.
