Spring breakers crowd around a Luke Bryan concert for his last annual show at Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City Beach last spring.
Funneling beer on a popular Gulf Coast beach during March may now be a thing of the past for spring breakers due to new laws passed by the Panama City Beach City Council.
The city council voted unanimously to ban alcohol on the sandy beaches during March 2016, a popular season for college spring break.
New laws end alcohol sales at 2 a.m., prohibit possession and consumption of alcohol in parking lots and ban climbing on hotel balconies.
“We had a lot of trouble last year, and that kind of sparked us and the county into changing some laws,†said Mike Gailfoil, desk sergeant at the Panama City Police Department.
Around 250,000 college spring breakers come to Panama City Beach over a six-week period according to David Demarest, public relations manager at Visit Panama City Beach.
Incidents last year included gun violations and student injuries, as well as a video of a gang rape recovered by police.
Despite the problems, not everyone is pleased about the new rules. Businesses and others have filed a lawsuit against Panama City Beach in federal court asking for the new ordinances to be overturned.
Popular spring break clubs such as Club La Vela and Spinnaker are among plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which alleges constitutional violations.
Police and city officials will not comment on the lawsuit because of pending litigation.
The new laws stem partially from worries by tourism officials that bad behavior by young people can damage the city’s year round reputation as a safe, family oriented place, said Dan Rowe, Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO.
“Local officials are taking steps to curtail any bad behavior,†Rowe said. “We are actively marketing our family-friendly offerings to young families on spring break, rather than the college market.â€
Despite the push by Panama City Beach officials to tone down spring break, some students at the University of Memphis still plan to travel to the popular destination and partake in their usual rowdy activities.
Tristan Gresko, 19, said despite the new rules, he will do what he’s always done: drink beer on the beach.
“I’m not worried,†Gresko said. “I don’t think they will do a good job implementing the new laws this year because people will always find a way to get around rules.â€
Gresko said since many of the people who drink on spring break are underage, they already are breaking the law and making new laws won’t change student behavior.
“I plan to chill on the beach, rent a pontoon to go to Shell Island and go to clubs,†Gresko said. “It might not be as fun as in the past, but I don’t think it will be dead.â€
However, not all students share the same attitude towards the legislation.
Wesley Funk, 20, said he doesn’t want to be the one to test the new rules.
“I wouldn’t drink on the beach because usually when something like this is done for the first time, they enforce it a lot harder,†Funk said. “I’d rather wait until someone else does it and see what happens to them.â€
Funk isn’t alone. Spencer Braden, a 19-year-old criminal justice student, said he agrees Panama City Beach officials will be stricter this year.
“It’s going to be boring in my opinion,†Braden said. “There will be people there, but it won’t be the same party it has been in previous years.â€
