Students and bar managers are seeing the appeal for a new Tuscaloosa bar scene as details transpire about the city’s proposed entertainment districts.
City Attorney Jimbo Woodson said the City of Tuscaloosa is working out details for potentially implementing entertainment districts on the Strip and around Temerson Square. The new districts would allow patrons to leave the bars with drinks and walk freely with an open container for the length of the district.
“The Legislature passed the act making it possible,” Woodson said. “No decision has been made yet, but the proposal is being studied by the safety committee.”
Woodson said specific rules for the proposed districts still have to be considered, such as how to keep people from bringing alcohol from home and monitoring which cups come from each of the bars.
“No beverages would be allowed from outside the district,” Woodson said. “Maybe each bar could have an identifiable cup, but those are details that would have to be worked out.”
Woodson said the city hopes to add something extra to the two popular bar areas but doesn’t necessarily want a Bourbon Street atmosphere.
“We’re not wanting a party in the streets,” Woodson said. “We don’t want barriers to hold people inside because that would have a block party feel. The rules would just exist for public property like sidewalks and streets around the bar areas.”
Woodson said if the city does choose to pass the new laws, they might take effect by the first football game this fall.
“It’s possible we could have a decision before the first home game,” Woodson said. “That first weekend might be a good time to try it out.”
John Alford, the general manager for The Houndstooth on the Strip said he sees the proposed entertainment districts as a positive addition for the bars in Tuscaloosa.
“I think it will be good for business for all of us,” Alford said. “The entertainment district would make [the bar scene] more centralized.”
Taylor Crawford, a senior majoring in elementary education, said the districts could be good for game days.
“It would be convenient on game days to hop from bar to bar,” Crawford said. “I could also see it making the downtown area and the Strip even more trashed during game days, though, if people are constantly throwing away cups to enter other bars.”
A concern some students have for the entertainment districts is they could allow more underage drinking, but other students disagree.
“Without an enclosed space, it would be harder to police underage drinking,” Crawford said.
Jessica Ruffin, a senior majoring in public relations, disagreed and said there are alternatives to controlling underage abuse in the districts.
“Sometimes people are able to get away with sneaking drinks inside bars,” Ruffin said. “If a cop saw you on the street and thought you didn’t look 21, he could stop you and ask for your ID. There would be no way to hide the fact you were drinking.”
Ruffin said passing the new laws probably wouldn’t change much about students’ behavior while partying.
“Some people are going to abuse alcohol no matter what,” Ruffin said. “Those people will cause problems whether they are in the bars or outside.”
