Las Palmas LifeCare Center won’t allow parking, tailgating on its property after weekend brawl

Las Palmas LifeCare Center has allowed tailgating on its property on North Mesa for more than 12 years.

That’s all changing after the brawl before the Texas Tech-UTEP game at the Sun Bowl Stadium Saturday.

“Safety is our first priority, and as a result of this past weekend’s incident, there will no longer be event parking at the Las Palmas LifeCare Center. We regret any inconvenience this may cause members of the community. The LifeCare Center will be open to patients during normal business hours,” said Melissa Offutt, Administrative Director, Marketing & Communications for Las Palmas Medical Center.

ABC-7 on Thursday afternoon spoke with Delbert Arnold with the El Paso Youth Sports Foundation about Las Palmas not allowing parking or tailgating in their lot this weekend.

The EPYSF is the group that would staff the lot entrance and collect money.

The money was divided among other groups, but EPYSF would make $800-$900 a week on parking, calling it their best fundraiser.

“I am very disappointed,” Arnold told ABC-7. “It goes along with everything else when things go wrong. It’s not in my control – it’s their call. It’s the path they chose. I can’t help but think I’d do the same thing if I were in their shoes.

The organization will meet next week to see what happens next.

Arnold heard Las Palmas may reconsider, but they can’t depend on it.

So the EPYSF will likely go out and do the “beating on the door ” stuff and see what happens.

One tailgater involved in the fight spoke to ABC-7 on the condition of anonymity.

“I ran in and saw some guy on the floor. I tried to get some people off of him and I guess I ended up tackling some guy and when I tried to get up, I was attacked, also. And then that’s when more people got involved,” he told ABC-7 Monday.

While he said he didn’t know what started the fight, other tailgaters told ABC-7 they saw UTEP fans approach Texas Tech fans tailgating in the Las Palmas parking lot and make derogatory comments, which led to a physical confrontation.

“We don’t know who was on which side,” he said. “We just saw people throwing punches and it just got really crazy.”

An El Paso Police spokesman confirmed to ABC-7 that a police report was filed regarding the fight.

Police said that one person was taken to the hospital for injuries to his face and two others not involved in the fight were arrested.

The investigation continues.

Meanwhile, the tailgater who had stepped in wondered where security was when things got out of control.

“If they could have one off-duty cop or a show of force,” he said. “Just someone of authority.”

The El Paso Youth Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is the organization that collaborates with Las Palmas to collect $10 entrance fees from each car on event nights.

Arnold said his group isn’t in charge of hiring security, referring ABC-7 to Ernie Gluck, the owner of the neighboring Rudolph Plaza shopping center.

Gluck told ABC-7 over the phone he always hires two constables to patrol the lot, with their focus primarily on preventing vandalism of vehicles.

Gluck said the evening of the fight, the two officers were diverted to a rock-throwing incident behind the neighboring shopping center minutes before the fight broke out, calling the timing “a perfect storm.”

Gluck told ABC-7 Monday he plans to staff two constables as the Rudolph Plaza lot before Saturday’s UTEP-NMSU game, with an additional constable on hand after the game.

Gluck and Arnold both told ABC-7 that even though security measures were in place, they didn’t believe that the fight could have been prevented had more constables been on hand. They said they think the constables would have been overwhelmed by the size and intensity of the crowd.

Below are incidents that occurred on UTEP property on game day on Sept. 6, 2014 when UTEP played Texas Tech at Sun Bowl Stadium.

Minor in Possession of Alcohol. Occurred on Sept. 6 at 11:07 p.m. in Sun Bowl Stadium Three individuals were ejected from the football game for consuming/possessing an alcoholic beverage while under the age of 21. Case closed.
Public Intoxication. Occurred on Sept. 6 at 10:50 p.m. in Sun Bowl Stadium. Officers arrested a visitor after determining he was intoxicated to the degree he may endanger himself or another person. He was released to a responsible person. Arrest made.
Disorderly Conduct. Occurred on Sept. 6 between 10:30 p.m. and 10:41 p.m. in the Sun Bowl Stadium. Three individuals were ejected from the football game for disorderly conduct. Case closed.
Disorderly Conduct. Occured on Sept. 6 between 10:19 p.m. and 10:52 p.m. in the Sun Bowl Stadium. Three individuals were ejected from the football game for disorderly conduct. Case closed.
Criminal Mischief. Occurred on Sept. 6 at 7:31 p.m. at Miners Hall. A staff member reported a male had kicked an exterior door causing the glass to break. Case open.
Class C Assault. Occurred on Sept. 6 between 6:45 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. in Parking Lot P-6. A faculty member reported a visitor had made offensive physical contact with him during a verbal argument. Arrest made.
Minor in Possession of Alcohol. Occurred on Sept. 9 at about 6:36 p.m. in Parking Lot P-1. A student was issued a citation for being in possession of an alcoholic beverage after it was determined he was under the age of 21. Arrest made.