New York Times

Monday, December 4, 2006

Page A14 (National Report)

Fighting to Save the Really Cheap Seats

By JESSE MCKINLEY

Published: December 4, 2006

For Dan Sicular , Saturday's football game at Memorial Stadium here could not have been better: the sun was out, the bands were loud, and his beloved University of California Bears beat their archrival Stanford for the fifth straight year.

Even so, Mr. Sicular said the joy of the victory was tempered by the fact that he may soon actually have to go inside the stadium to watch the game. Mr. Sicular is one of hundreds of Bears fans who regularly spend game days on Tightwad Hill, a steep slope just outside the stadium's east walls from which the ticket-deprived can see the all of the action without paying admission.

Or dealing with too many rules, he pointed out. ''It's more relaxed,'' said Mr. Sicular, 48, a geographer and three-time Cal grad, with bachelor's and master's degrees and a doctorate. ''There's no assigned seating, there aren't any restrictions on beverages or smoking, people bring food and comfortable chairs. The only real rule is don't wear red,'' which, of course, is Stanford's team color.

But under a plan being considered by the Board of Regents at the University of California , a new bank of seats would be built on the stadium's eastern flank, a two-story structure that fans worry would destroy Tightwad Hill's appeal by partly blocking the view.

So upset is Mr. Sicular by the proposal that he recently collected more than 1,000 signatures on a petition and traveled to a regents meeting in Los Angeles to deliver it, pleading with them to save the spot ''where Cal Bears fans of all stripes and means have been watching games since the stadium was built in 1923.'' On Saturday, Mr. Sicular circulated a second petition asking the City of Berkeley to declare Tightwad Hill a landmark, which he hopes would add a layer of governmental oversight to any renovation plans.

He is not the only party opposing the stadium plan. Last month, the Berkeley City Council voted to file a lawsuit against the university, saying that the stadium project, which includes a $125 million athletic center, had not adequately taken into account the seismic dangers of the area. The stadium sits near the Hayward Fault, which experts worry will eventually unleash a major earthquake.

Marie Felde, a spokeswoman for the Berkeley campus, said the university had thoroughly evaluated the seismic concerns. The regents are expected to vote on parts of the stadium project on Tuesday.

Ms. Felde added that she was aware of the worries of Tightwad Hill loyalists but that they were premature.

''Fans are fans, and we would love for them to continue to enjoy the hill,'' she said. ''It's just too early to know what impact the design would have on the Tightwad Hill experience.''

At Saturday's game, more than 500 Cal fans crammed the hillside in two spots, with coolers of beer, school flags and binoculars. Fans perched on logs, sat in the dirt and on the few patches of grass not torn up by generations of feet. There was much drinking, smoking and cheering, and at least one person blogging his experience.

''This is where the real fans are,'' said James Fahey, 36, who graduated from Berkeley in 1997 and was enjoying a cold beer. ''I have seats for the game, but I like it up here more.''

That said, it is not luxurious. Several people slipped and skidded down the hillside. ''It's like a European downhill race,'' said Adam Marr, 29, who was drinking and watching the action. ''Except the contestants aren't volunteers.''

Jennifer McDougall, the principal planner for the Berkeley campus, also said the planned seating might not impinge the view from the hill as much as fans feared. Moreover, Ms. McDougall said any construction on the seating would be the last of three phases that would begin in earnest next year. ''I think they will have at least one more season up there,'' she said.

Still, Mr. Sicular fears that any loss of view would ruin the experience.

''It would be like sitting behind a support pillar inside a stadium,'' he said. ''How can you enjoy watching a game if you can't see half the field?''

That was not a problem on Saturday: from most spots on the hill, the entire field was visible, with San Francisco and the bay sparkling in the distance.

Michele Mandell, a 1988 Cal grad, said she had passed on seats to come to the hill for the first time. ''I figured this might be the last year I could come up here,'' said Ms. Mandell, 41, who lasted till halftime before heading down. ''I'd be sad to see it go.''