Hours before the 6 p.m. kickoff for Missouri football against Southeastern Louisiana, tailgaters will pack into Columbia for the first time as a member of the Southeastern Conference.
In early August, Missouri football announced the program had surpassed its goal of 45,000 season tickets sold. Estimates of season tickets amount to 46,500 tickets, according to an MU Athletic Department news release. At this time, Faurot Field can seat 71,004 spectators.
“We’ve noted since making the move to the SEC that it would be a gradual process of getting fully acclimated to our new home, but our fans are clearly excited and ahead of that curve,” Athletic Director Mike Alden said in the news release. “This is truly an historic benchmark which everyone in Tiger Nation can take pride in.”
Agencies around Columbia collaborate to compose a plan on how to handle crowds before the season begins. Although a move to the SEC might bring more people into Columbia, law enforcement and fire departments are not worried about handling the crowds.
“It’s similar to big games in past years,” MU Police Department spokesman Brian Weimer said. “Nothing has changed.”
He said students consuming excessive amounts of alcohol while tailgating leads to one of the biggest problems for local law enforcement.
“Many times alcohol leads to some problems that we see,” Weimer said. “There’s nothing that exempts underage drinking at football games.”
The Columbia Police Department deploys 27 officers to control the traffic heading downtown and out of Columbia after the game.
“It will be a learning process, if it’s that much different than the past,” CPD Special Operations Commander Scott Young said. “Filling the stadium again shouldn’t be much different.”
Downtown Columbia will fill up, prompting extra CPD foot patrol officers, Young said.
A smaller crowd might be expected for this Labor Day weekend’s non-conference opponent SELU, but SEC programs Georgia, Kentucky and 2012 BCS National Champions Alabama will roll into town later in the season.
As the Tigers battle opponents in their seven home games, the Columbia Fire Department will be prepared for emergency situations.
“We don’t compromise safety or staffing for the city limits,” Columbia Fire Marshall Brad Fraizer said. “We are confident we have the right number of personnel.”
He said dry conditions around Missouri for the past seven months worry the fire department, as tailgaters will light the coals and fire up the grills Saturday morning.
According to the [National Weather Service](http://www.crh.noaa.gov/eax/?n=drought), 99.29 percent of the state is rated as D3 drought or worse. D3 drought refers to extreme fire danger.
According to a Columbia Fire Department news release, approximately 8,200 fires occur each year due to grilling incidents. The department expects this number to grow with the current drought conditions.
“We realize everyone wants to have a great tailgating experience,” the [fire department news release](http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Public_Comm/Public_Information/Press_Releases/view.php?id=800) stated. “However, with our current conditions, it’s important that everyone take just a little bit more time to be aware of their surroundings as they start their tailgating activities.”
The fire department will have one fire truck with a crew of three on-site for game days in addition to a volunteer Citizens Emergency Response team and one chief officer acting as command staff liaison inside the stadium.
“It’s a team effort,” Frazier said. “We already have a good presence, but with more people comes more demand. We are prepared to handle any contingency going on.”