TEMPE- Attending Arizona State football games were routine family outings for the Parsons family until the clear bag policy made effective in August created difficulties for the family of four to attend.
A clear bag policy adopted by Sun Devil Stadium this year was a security measure that became effective in stadiums throughout nearly all of the NFL and Pac-12 stadiums. Its purpose: to get fans into the stadium quicker but without comprising security.
But for Adriana Parsons, attending the football games with her husband and two small children just became a lot more challenging.
The policy requires all fans to carry their belongings into the stadium in clear bags. Backpacks, fanny packs and tote bags are banned. Families experienced the biggest challenges with diaper bags and full-size strollers also making the list of prohibited items.
To attend the games, the Parsons would have to pack all of their game day necessities in gallon-sized zip lock bags, or one sold by the stadium or other retailers.
“We have diapers, a set of extra clothing, wipes, bottles [and] burp rags,” Parsons said.
The Parsons are huge Sun Devil fans, but they uncharacteristically haven’t been to a game during the 2016 season.
“As far as the football games, I think it’s a huge part of being a Sun Devil fan so we try to go to as many games as we can,” Parsons said.
Maggie Emmons, Spokesperson for Sun Devil Stadium, said the policy is for security purposes and doesn’t dampen the family-friendly aspect of the football games.
“It’s going to help our security easily identify what’s in the bag and get the fans through the line quickly,” Emmons said.
Parsons said she understands the reasoning behind the policy, but sees attending the games in the future as something she might have to do without her kids.
“It’ll make it significantly harder to go to the games, so we might have to incur additional costs, such as childcare,” Parsons said.
Emmons said each family member may carry a clear bag into the stadium. The largest bag that is accepted measures 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches.
“I think there’s also a misconception of how big a bag is because we do reference that one gallon size. But the actual bag size 12 by 6 by 12 is substantial,” Emmons said.
The University of Phoenix adopted the policy a few years ago when the entire NFL did. Clear gallon-sized bags are handed out to stadium attendees if they show up without an accepted bag, according to Scott Norton, a spokesperson with the stadium.
“Diaper bags are banned, the contents of the diaper bags are not banned,” Norton said. “We’re just restricting basically the vehicle they used to get them inside the stadium.”
Parsons is still a Sun Devil fan, but said she plans on watching the next football game with her family from home.