EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority intends to aggressively monitor tailgating and drinking at Giants Stadium after a jury awarded $135 million to a 7-year-girl left paralyzed by a car crash involving a fan who was drunk when he left a football game at the stadium.
The board passed a resolution Friday that calls for stricter oversight of activity in the parking lots before and after games and also inside the stadium.
"We plan to increase our number of undercover monitors to look over both the fans and the vendors selling beer," said George Zoffinger, authority president. "We also have spotters on the field with binoculars scanning the crowd. I don't want the Meadowlands, in general, to ever be in any way responsible for doing that to a little girl."
A Bergen County jury awarded $75 million in punitive damages Wednesday to the family of 7-year-old Antonia Verni, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1999 accident involving a fan leaving a game. The family also received $60 million in compensatory damages a day earlier.
Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., which operates the concessions at Giants Stadium and about three dozen other indoor and outdoor stadiums that house pro teams, was found liable for most of the damages. The company has said it will appeal the verdict.
The jury ruled against Aramark after the fan, Daniel Lanzaro of Cresskill, testified he bought six beers at halftime of the game even though he said he had already drunk at least six during the first half and was slurring his speech.
After the accident, Lanzaro's blood-alcohol level was measured at more than twice the legal limit of .10. Lanzaro pleaded guilty to vehicular assault and is serving a five-year prison term.
Zoffinger said authorities already detain up to 60 drunken fans during typical Giants and Jets games.
"And in almost all those cases, these are people who started drinking a couple of hours before the game, in the parking lots," Zoffinger said. "We are cognizant of that, but (stadium employees) have to make a judgment and sometimes people are reluctant to do that. But this incident just shows what can happen if people do nothing."
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The board passed a resolution Friday that calls for stricter oversight of activity in the parking lots before and after games and also inside the stadium.
"We plan to increase our number of undercover monitors to look over both the fans and the vendors selling beer," said George Zoffinger, authority president. "We also have spotters on the field with binoculars scanning the crowd. I don't want the Meadowlands, in general, to ever be in any way responsible for doing that to a little girl."
A Bergen County jury awarded $75 million in punitive damages Wednesday to the family of 7-year-old Antonia Verni, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a 1999 accident involving a fan leaving a game. The family also received $60 million in compensatory damages a day earlier.
Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., which operates the concessions at Giants Stadium and about three dozen other indoor and outdoor stadiums that house pro teams, was found liable for most of the damages. The company has said it will appeal the verdict.
The jury ruled against Aramark after the fan, Daniel Lanzaro of Cresskill, testified he bought six beers at halftime of the game even though he said he had already drunk at least six during the first half and was slurring his speech.
After the accident, Lanzaro's blood-alcohol level was measured at more than twice the legal limit of .10. Lanzaro pleaded guilty to vehicular assault and is serving a five-year prison term.
Zoffinger said authorities already detain up to 60 drunken fans during typical Giants and Jets games.
"And in almost all those cases, these are people who started drinking a couple of hours before the game, in the parking lots," Zoffinger said. "We are cognizant of that, but (stadium employees) have to make a judgment and sometimes people are reluctant to do that. But this incident just shows what can happen if people do nothing."
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