No more smoking or re entry at the Saddledome

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

A very small policy change? Ya sure maybe to you but obviously it's important to the vast majority that's why the thread is so long. If a family of 3 drops $600-$700 bucks to go to a game I think the dad should be allowed outside to have a smoke. What if the mom forgot her important medication in the car? What if I left my bank card in the car?

Uh...don't be absent-minded? Carry your important stuff with you? These are tantamount to strawman arguments.


Listen, if you're still chainsmoking that often that you absolutely cannot wait until the end of a game that you paid that much money (seems excessive for a family night out BTW) to light up, you probably need to reassess your spending priorities.

I would like to see how much you spend annually on cigarettes and other smoking paraphernalia compared to how much you spend on tickets. My guess is that smoking costs you a heck of a lot more than hockey tickets do and takes away from your life rather than adds to it the way hockey would.........well, as long as the Flames are playing decently anyways.

It's really up to you, but if this change affects you that much, I wouldn't worry so much about how you can attend games, but rather about how much this addiction currently has ahold of you.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

Memories of walking through every mall in the city smoking. Memories of smoking on the bus and in airplanes. I remember grocery shopping at safeway and every shopping cart had an ashtray attached to it. Used to do my grocery shopping and have a couple smokes

No offense, but I'm super glad those days are gone. The bolded sounds terribly unnecessary and pretty gross to be honest.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

A very small policy change? Ya sure maybe to you but obviously it's important to the vast majority that's why the thread is so long. If a family of 3 drops $600-$700 bucks to go to a game I think the dad should be allowed outside to have a smoke. What if the mom forgot her important medication in the car? What if I left my bank card in the car?

boo hoo. it's 2018, not 1976.

and the vast majority doesn't care. it's a vocal few making the thread so long, with people like me trying to understand why a couple of you are so mad about this you'd give up going to concerts and hockey games.

and as for mom and her medication, they already said that exceptions can be made. you just can't wander outside and then come back in as you please.

not sure what the big deal is. sounds like you really do need to stay at home.

face it. events are not going to enable your filthy habit when they have no reason to do so whatsoever. even if you don't smoke, when you go to a hockey game, you generally have no reason to come and go from the building.

people will get used to it, and I think the flames with recover form the 5 people who refuse to go to games any more.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

boo hoo. it's 2018, not 1976.

and the vast majority doesn't care. it's a vocal few making the thread so long, with people like me trying to understand why a couple of you are so mad about this you'd give up going to concerts and hockey games.

and as for mom and her medication, they already said that exceptions can be made. you just can't wander outside and then come back in as you please.

not sure what the big deal is. sounds like you really do need to stay at home.

face it. events are not going to enable your filthy habit when they have no reason to do so whatsoever. even if you don't smoke, when you go to a hockey game, you generally have no reason to come and go from the building.

people will get used to it, and I think the flames with recover form the 5 people who refuse to go to games any more.

The real question is given there is no justification for not allowing it. (Security is a farcical reason) Why should they prohibit it.

You inconvenience a small but real group of people for no benefit. It does not make sense. Its not about enabling a filthy habbit its removing a service from your customers for no reason.

When removing an option from people the question shouldnt' be why do people use this option. It should be that the harm in providing the option outweighs the benefit in providing this option. If there is no harm leave it the way it is.

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

1. Medication isn't equitable to cigarettes - and likely they would have the leave the arena on an individual basis. I don't know if they would be allowed back in. Maybe so based on the circumstances.

2. You don't buy something if you don't have your bank card. Seems pretty simple.

I got an email from the Flames asking for my opinion on the policy(i gather it went out to all STH). They did mention that people will be allowed out with the right to return on an case by case basis, medical was one of the exceptions allowed to the policy.

Its tough luck for the smokers but the legacy policy effectively expanded the area of the Saddledome for Flames games. Where will all those people go now? The concourse will be more crowded now so it impacts non-smokers as well. I wonder how many people were outside? Maybe 500-1000...

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

Just gives me another reason to stay away from that DUMP called the saddledome. This decision just saved me a whole wack load of money. I'll just sit at home and chain smoke cigarettes and joints on my couch in my underwear and drink cheap beer and eat my own.yummy snacks

Are you single?

[SportsJunky]

By the way, for the smokers, this is the answer:

and as for mom and her medication, they already said that exceptions can be made. you just can't wander outside and then come back in as you please.

Just go to the designated entrance/exit and tell them you forgot something in your car. Go out, have a dart and come back in. I really don't think they care enough about this to keep an eye on you. Maybe walk around the corner or something.

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by GGG

The real question is given there is no justification for not allowing it. (Security is a farcical reason) Why should they prohibit it.

You inconvenience a small but real group of people for no benefit. It does not make sense. Its not about enabling a filthy habbit its removing a service from your customers for no reason.

When removing an option from people the question shouldnt' be why do people use this option. It should be that the harm in providing the option outweighs the benefit in providing this option. If there is no harm leave it the way it is.

If the dome is the last Canadian rink in the NHL to do this, and from what I hear only Vegas might have a smoking section outside, it is quite possible it is NHL preferred if not directed, not just the dome sticking it to the smokers as some seem to think.

Also, I am going to guess that none of us (or very few at best) actually know the inner workings of security and what is required or not required for exit and re-entry at such a venue. Not just "I've been a security guard" level, but the actual factors that go into the decision. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other factors which now need to be taken into account due to the world we currently live in, which likely is some of the reason.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I was in Montreal a couple weeks ago and I couldn't believe how many people there still smoke. It's very much in fashion still.

If the Montrealers can handle not smoking during a hockey game, anyone can. Come on Calgarians, show that you have more will power than the Quebecois.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by IamNotKenKing

If the dome is the last Canadian rink in the NHL to do this, and from what I hear only Vegas might have a smoking section outside, it is quite possible it is NHL preferred if not directed, not just the dome sticking it to the smokers as some seem to think.

Also, I am going to guess that none of us (or very few at best) actually know the inner workings of security and what is required or not required for exit and re-entry at such a venue. Not just "I've been a security guard" level, but the actual factors that go into the decision. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other factors which now need to be taken into account due to the world we currently live in, which likely is some of the reason.

The best way to kill people is drive a van into the parking area. Until they have a dual perimeter structure around the building ala the Olympics they aren't stopping the most common type of attack these days. If security is a real concern There should be a vehicle permitter followed by a pedestrian permitter external to the building. This would also allow for a very nice smoking area.

Just becuase the NHL told them to doesn't make it a good reason. It changes the villain from the Flames to 1/30th of the Flames but it still doesn't change the fact that there is no real justification for this. It does not prevent or help prevent an attack.

[Iceman57]

Originally Posted by Dreamingof89again

I have quit smoking for over a year now. I just want to say it is really hard and I think about smoking everyday. I know it is gross but don’t think that people can just quit because you think it is gross. It is an addiction just like drugs. Anyhow rant over

I totally get it, I know people who want to quit but haven't been able too, it's hard. I personally was really lucky, after socially smoking in high school and then more regularly in the work force as a cook, I woke up one morning, this was in my mid 20's and i went to light up except for some reason it tasted awful and I put it out.

There's no sane explanation for it, I literally just stopped wanting a cigarette from that point on. I used that stop smoking gum for a bit at work on breaks but it was the craziest thing, my body just didn't want to do it any more and I haven't had or desired one ever since, even when drunk, like I said, super lucky.

Sent from my SM-T377W using Tapatalk

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by stone hands

The vast majority of people don't smoke these days. The word you're looking for is "vocal minority"

Ps it's been mentioned they will let you reenter based on special circumstances (forgot medication in the car, etc)

This. Any suggestion that this is a decision that impacts a significant number of people is not true.

StatsCan recently said that about 17% of Canadians still smoke (from heavy smokers to occasional smokers).

Of that number, the vast majority are light-to-occasional smokers, people who could easily go 3-4 hours without a cigarette. Even then, moderate smokers make up most of the rest with heavy smokers being the lowest percentage, so you’re probably looking at impacting a very small percentage of people by not allowing smoking for 4 hours.

If this decision makes life better for 83-95+% of the attendees at the Saddledome, it’s a good decision.

[nik-]

What a dumb decision. If people want to smoke, let them. It's not hard to open a door and put some staff there.

[Otto-matic]

It's all a ploy for the new arena.

In a new building people would be free to smoke!

[agulati]

Originally Posted by GGG

The best way to kill people is drive a van into the parking area. Until they have a dual perimeter structure around the building ala the Olympics they aren't stopping the most common type of attack these days. If security is a real concern There should be a vehicle permitter followed by a pedestrian permitter external to the building. This would also allow for a very nice smoking area.

Just becuase the NHL told them to doesn't make it a good reason. It changes the villain from the Flames to 1/30th of the Flames but it still doesn't change the fact that there is no real justification for this. It does not prevent or help prevent an attack.

This is also a concern they discussed in the STH session. The added police presence in the parking lot/surrounding streets was to dissuade/prevent such attacks.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by nik-

What a dumb decision. If people want to smoke, let them. It's not hard to open a door and put some staff there.

From a strictly in/out standpoint: I used to work there as an usher (back when tickets were paper) and trying to switch the machine from scan in to scan out, back and forth, attacked from both sides.... absolute nightmare. Especially when people don’t wait to scan out, then try to come back in and it says they can’t. Then they get mad so you let them in anyways. Disaster.

Although it helped me create the greatest scam ever and I attended at least the 3rd period of every 04 playoff game. Wait for people leaving with small kids, or older couples. Politely approach them and ask if they were leaving. Use their ticket, when the machine made that terrible noise go “oh man I didn’t get scanned out! ####”. In the door.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

From a strictly in/out standpoint: I used to work there as an usher (back when tickets were paper) and trying to switch the machine from scan in to scan out, back and forth, attacked from both sides.... absolute nightmare. Especially when people don’t wait to scan out, then try to come back in and it says they can’t. Then they get mad so you let them in anyways. Disaster.

Although it helped me create the greatest scam ever and I attended at least the 3rd period of every 04 playoff game. Wait for people leaving with small kids, or older couples. Politely approach them and ask if they were leaving. Use their ticket, when the machine made that terrible noise go “oh man I didn’t get scanned out! ####”. In the door.

In doors and outs door. No switching. Where is the problem?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by GGG

The best way to kill people is drive a van into the parking area. Until they have a dual perimeter structure around the building ala the Olympics they aren't stopping the most common type of attack these days. If security is a real concern There should be a vehicle permitter followed by a pedestrian permitter external to the building. This would also allow for a very nice smoking area.

Just becuase the NHL told them to doesn't make it a good reason. It changes the villain from the Flames to 1/30th of the Flames but it still doesn't change the fact that there is no real justification for this. It does not prevent or help prevent an attack.

Funny you should mention that. They have been adding vehicle barriers all around the dome over the last year as well.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by nik-

In doors and outs door. No switching. Where is the problem?

Hey man I’m just tellin ya how they ran things. It was more of a tale than an opinion. I also think this rule is silly.

Although they did have out doors separate from in for the smoking areas in recent years, and required you to go through security again.

[Locke]

We should have hoses that descend from the ceiling to pump smoke right into their lungs like the exhaust hoses at an automotive garage! That would solve this problem.

Hey...there could even a bathroom application to this ceiling hose nonsense as well...

Just, you know, dont use the same hoses....