Police OK with ESPN's shooting in park plan
11:32 PM 4/28/04
Beth Williams Wisconsin State Journal

Madison police have determined that ESPN's plan for a shooting tournament at a popular South Side dog park is safe. <

But residents surrounding Quann Park are getting dog costumes and stereo equipment ready to "take back the park" if the cable sports network is given permission to fire rifles and shotguns there as part of its televised Great Outdoor Games. <

Some residents plan to scale fences in full dog costumes to protest the event. Others plan to set up stereo equipment, record the gun blasts and bounce the sound back at the tournament. <

"We want to keep it light and keep some humor in it, but it's really not funny," said resident Shannon Daruth. "The South Side is really safe now but for years and years this neighborhood was marred by gun violence." <

The July 8 to 11 games - which organizers say could draw 60,000 spectators - include fishing, timber sports, sporting dog contests and target shooting with rifles, shotguns and bows and arrows. Most events will be at the Alliant Center but ESPN wants to use adjacent Quann Park for the shooting events. <

ESPN needs written permission from the police chief or mayor to fire a gun within city limits. The job of handling these requests has traditionally fallen on the police chief. <

Acting Police Chief Noble Wray is expected to make a decision next week. Officials are meeting Friday to talk about the issue. <

Ald. Matt Sloan, 13th District, who represents the area, has proposed requiring City Council permission to fire a gun in the city. That requirement will be discussed at the May 4 council meeting. <

Madison Police Lt. Cameron McLay, who has been reviewing ESPN's range design, wrote Wednesday in his final report that bullets cannot escape from the range ESPN is proposing. <

Neighbors have said they're worried because a bullet from a .22-caliber rifle could travel as far as a mile. <

"It is true that a .22-caliber bullet can travel a long ways and still have enough energy to do damage if it hits somebody," McLay said. "The design that ESPN brought forward that I reviewed would not have made that possible." <

Bullet resistant materials will be set up behind the targets and surround the competitors so no blue sky is visible, said Eric Matijevich, the games' director. The games have never had a shooting accident, he said. <

"There's no chance of a bullet outside of the competition area," Matijevich said. <

While the times of the shooting competitions are still tentative, Matijevich said shooting will probably begin in the afternoon on July 8 and 9 and end by 10:30 p.m. Shooting could take place all day July 10. Much of the park will be closed during competition. <

"With Madison and its liberal stance and being anti-gun, we don't think this sets a very good precedent for Madison," said Tom DiSalvo, a member of the Capitol View and Hammersley Heights neighborhood group. "There's plenty of gun clubs, etc., around the city that are set up for this sort of thing that they can go to." <

Other residents, while concerned about shooting in the park, said the three-day sacrifice should be worth it. "It would be good for the city," said Carl Williams, who lives nearby. "The city needs money anyway." <

Tourism officials have estimated the games could bring in $11 million. <

"It's an event that I think Madisonians will enjoy and embrace," Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said. "It gives us an opportunity to present Madison to a national audience in a positive light." <

Cieslewicz said he's hopeful ESPN and the city can work with the neighborhood and hold the shooting competition at Quann Park. <

ESPN does have a backup plan to move the target sports elsewhere if necessary, Matijevich said. But the network wants to keep most events in one central location so people can experience all the competitions, he said. <

Last year's games were held in Reno, Nev., at a park that backs up to busy Interstate 80 and is in the city, said Deanna Ashby, marketing director for the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority. <

"Their safety precautions were of the upmost," Ashby said. "Those guys run a top-of-the-line event." <

Contact Beth Williams at bwilliams@madison.com or 252-6125.