Huntington Beach bans alcohol games at downtown bars
New businesses opening in downtown Huntington Beach can cut beer pong out of their possible entertainment lineups.
City leaders recently voted to ban alcohol games for new businesses or those renewing their entertainment licenses.
Beer pong has been a form of entertainment at a number of establishments in Surf City, where aficionados tested their accuracy and alcohol tolerance in a satellite tournament during the World Series of Beer Pong in 2008.
Beer pong starts out with partially filled cups of beer arranged in triangles on opposite sides of a table. Each player tries to toss a ping-pong ball into a cup on the other side, forcing an opposing player to drink it. Players or teams lose when they empty all of their beer cups.
The ban was inspired by Police Chief Kenneth Small, who wrote to businesses in the fall, asking them to voluntarily stop allowing alcohol games and warning that they ran the risk of not having their entertainment permits renewed if they continued.
“It’s an alcohol game that encourages excessive drinking,” said police Capt. Chuck Thomas. “We did not believe that type of game was in the best interest of the community.”
Councilman Don Hansen said the beer-pong ban is part of an effort to clean up downtown’s reputation for excessive partying.
Perhaps more important, he said, was the council’s decision to close bars at midnight rather than 2 a.m.
Hansen said that bar patrons at 2 a.m. “spill back out onto the streets and into residential neighborhoods . . . going to the bathroom right in front of other people’s lawns.”
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