Incident shakes business downtown

The removal was ordered Oct. 18 on the basis that the sign and awning violate city building codes, but it’s just the latest step in the city’s concerted effort to control – or shut down – Traffic.

Ngo has seen violence erupt outside his downtown establishment on two consecutive weekends in October.

The situation came to a head Oct. 15, when a bouncer was stabbed by a club patron. When police arrived on the scene, the crowd responded negatively and additional units were called in to quell a volatile crowd of about 400 club goers. Four people were arrested.

“When you get younger people and alcohol mixed together, emotions run high and better judgment can slip away,” said Police Chief Lynn Rowe. “When you have a crowd that’s willing to react the way that they did when the police tried to take action to break up the fight, that’s where we drew the line and said, ‘We’re not going to tolerate that.’”

The city of Springfield isn’t going to tolerate it either. It issued a statement Oct. 17 that it was taking measures to shut down the club, beginning with a notice of nuisance ordinance violation, which was issued to Ngo Oct. 19. Any further violations of the ordinance allow the city to issue an order to vacate the premises.

The city also stated it wants to invoke state liquor control laws to prohibit on-premises alcohol sales for up to one year if further disorderly conduct or breaches of the peace occur.

The building code violation related to signage is the city’s latest action against the club.

Ngo said the lack of a sign on the building, combined with reports of the city’s actions toward the club, caused a significant drop in attendance during the following weekend. While a normal Friday or Saturday night would see attendance of 700 or more, the weekend of Oct. 21–22 saw the club average just more than 100 a night. Sales, which Ngo said average $6,000–$7,000 nightly, didn’t reach $1,000 either night.

Protecting investments

While Ngo is worried about the future of his club, downtown neighborhood officials such as Urban Districts Alliance President Rusty Worley worry about the future of the entire downtown area.

“I believe that our business owners are always concerned about the perception of the area where they do business, wanting to make sure it’s clean, safe and vibrant,” Worley said. “This has the potential to disrupt the perception of the area.”

He added that he’s glad that the city has stepped in and put its foot down regarding behavior issues.

The city is working to protect big investments – UDA estimates that more than $200 million has been invested downtown since 1997, not including the more than $40 million in ongoing projects at Heer’s, College Station and the Discovery Center.

However, stakeholders don’t seem alarmed by the Traffic incident.

Downtown developer Jeff Schrag, who has been involved with residential developments including Founders Park Lofts and the Bay-Wilhoit Building, thinks residential development downtown has come too far for one incident to have much effect.

Schrag is a member of the Hospitality Resource Panel, a downtown merchant and property owner organization that he says uses peer pressure to handle problems.

“They’ve been extremely successful in other parts of the country in solving issues based on peer pressure and alternate ideas, as opposed to litigation and stricter governmental enforcement,” he said.

Schrag added that he’s impressed with the way Ngo has responded to the situation.

“Very quickly he has changed some things, and that’s very positive,” Schrag said.

Cracking down

Jimmy Kochs, manager of The Rockwell at 221 Park Central Square, doesn’t think the incident at Traffic is indicative of downtown in general or that it will affect people’s eagerness to venture downtown.

“We’re the live music venue, but then there’s dance clubs, pubs, restaurants, art galleries,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to affect people coming downtown because there’s such a variety of things to do.”

A larger issue is the possibility that the city might prohibit downtown clubs from admitting minors.

Rowe confirmed that there has been a discussion of stricter controls on underage club goers.

“We’ve talked about everything from an absolute prohibition down to certain age blocks that are allowed there and certain time blocks,” Rowe said. “We’ve long had a concern about underage people in that environment where alcohol is being served and the possibility that they could consume alcohol. We’re beginning to have those discussions now, but ultimately that will be a policymaker’s decision.”

If the city does implement stricter laws regarding admitting people under 21 to the clubs, Kochs worries it could hurt his ability to book certain bands.

Bands depend on a portion of ticket sales from performances for their pay, and Kochs said it would be harder to get some acts to come to the Rockwell if part of the potential audience is not allowed into the club.

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