The Philadelphia Union Hope You Die Tonight

Currently in Pennsylvania we are in the midst of a brutal heat wave. Temperatures have been in the 90s all week and today looks to offer much the same with the one caveat being a chance of a possible thunderstorm tonight and tomorrow offering relief as we head into early next week. But for now, it is hot. It is humid. It is uncomfortable. And if you are an elderly or otherwise heat sensitive person, this weather is potentially deadly.

The Philadelphia Union are not meteorologists. They do not know the exact hour the storms are going to come. But what they do know is they have a strict no liquids policy and gosh darn it they are going to enforce it to the great detriment of their fans.

FANS: Given heat ice advisory there will be courtesy cups of ice at each concession stand. Water bottles ARE NOT permitted inside @PPLPark

— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) July 20, 2013

HEY EVERYBODY WE ARE NOT BEING STUPID LOOK FREE ICE!!!!!!!!!! IT EVENTUALLY MELTS!!!! INTO WATER!!!!!

The Philadelphia Union admittedly do a lot of things right when it comes to game day and fan experience. To say this is not one of them would be a great understatement. Citizens Bank Park allows you to bring in any liquids provided they are sealed. At the very least, the Union should adopt a similar policy.

As it is, the Union seek to profit off the basic human need of water at the great expense of every paying customer who bought a ticket to tonight's game. The weather outside is, without hyperbole, deadly. Without water, you will dehydrate quickly on a day like today, and it is quite feasible prolonged exposure to this heat and humidity could be deadly, especially to elderly people.

The "no liquids, no exceptions" policy is stupid on principle but on days like today it is downright negligent. By restricting all water to concession stands the Union are, without hyperbole, risking your life tonight at the expense of making an extra buck or two on concession sales. No persons life is worth a few extra dollars on concession stands.

The policy is stupid, archaic, and needs to be halted it now.

But hey, who needs better policy when FREE ICE!!!!! is available to all.

Update: Ryan Petzar spoke to a Union representative who offered the following information.

I just got off the phone with the CEO of the @PhilaUnion. He stood firm, VERY firm, on not allowing any kind of water bottles in the park.

— ryan petzar (@petzrawr) July 20, 2013

He said, outright, that sealed bottles that could be thrown or contain illicit substances are a bigger threat to fan safety than the sun.

— ryan petzar (@petzrawr) July 20, 2013

I said that making fans, who paid to watch the game, leave the spectator area to get water will be a deterrent to them actually doing that.

— ryan petzar (@petzrawr) July 20, 2013

I asked him if there would be increased medical personnel because of the increased risk of heat-related illnesses, he said there wouldn’t be

— ryan petzar (@petzrawr) July 20, 2013

So there’s no additional medical help today. But he said that because there’s never been a fan injury at PPL, they don’t anticipate problems

— ryan petzar (@petzrawr) July 20, 2013

Oh, and he wanted me to make sure I wrote that they would be giving away cups of water in the stores in the concourses of the park.

— ryan petzar (@petzrawr) July 20, 2013

In soccer, there aren’t natural breaks in the play for fans to get up and go get water. Fans who’ve paid money don’t want to miss the game.

— ryan petzar (@petzrawr) July 20, 2013

They don't anticipate problems, yet they are offering people free cups of water in the concourse. That is what we in the biz call PR spin.

Overall this is disappointing from the Union, who are normally much better with fans.

Justin Feinberg

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