Worried businesses close during Texas Relays

AUSTIN, Texas — Some popular downtown entertainment businesses and a shopping mall are considering closing or have already decided to close for the weekend during the Texas Relays track and field event, a move one civil rights leader says makes black visitors feel unwelcome.

The businesses cite a variety of reasons for their decisions, including safety concerns, low revenue because many of the underage visitors prefer to hang out in the street, and exhaustion from last month's South by Southwest music festival.

The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at the University of Texas bring high school and college track athletes to town, and there are also numerous private parties at hotels, restaurants that attract mostly black attendees. Police have said the event does not draw any more crime than other large events here.

Emo's Austin, a live music venue in downtown's Sixth Street district, will be closed, as will Flamingo Cantina, a premier Austin club for reggae music. It's the first time Sixth Street businesses have ceased operations during the Relays. Highland Mall also will close early Saturday.

"It's counterproductive for us to even be open because of the craziness downtown," said Angela Gillen, owner of Flamingo Cantina. "It's kind of dangerous, and the staff doesn't want to work."

Gillen said she could not point to a specific incident that has caused her to think the atmosphere is dangerous.

"The shows that we've thrown in the past have not been successful ... Folks that come to that event aren't looking for reggae," she said.

Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the NAACP, said that for years Texas Relays participants have said blacks feel shut out.

"Unfortunately, it gives this city a very negative reputation when it comes to treating and welcoming African-Americans," Linder said.

Highland Mall near North Interstate 35 is a frequent destination for Texas Relays attendees. It will close at 2 p.m. Saturday "because the safety and security of our shoppers and retailers is our top priority," General Manager Jeff Gionnette said in an e-mail to the Austin American-Statesman.

Gionnette said officials decided to close because security officers the mall has used in the past "were not available." He did not elaborate. Gionnette did not cite specific security concerns or respond to a follow-up e-mail.

Austin police, who are ramping up for the weekend as they do during other big events, have said the number of tickets issued during Texas Relays in past years is similar to other weekend events, including South by Southwest and Mardi Gras. Police also have said that they typically do not see a rise in use-of-force incidents by police.

Assistant Police Chief Patti Robinson said the crowd in years past has been different from the crowds at events like South by Southwest. Generally, she said, Texas Relays revelers are younger and not of age to go inside bars and clubs, and that leaves many of them on the street.

Robinson said she was not aware that some businesses had decided to close.

Bill Corsello, general manager of Emo's, cited financial reasons.

"We've tried stuff during the Relays, and year after year we lose money," Corsello said. "We get about 20 percent of our normal crowd. People just want to be on the street. They don't want to go into our club."

Not all nightclubs find that to be the case. The hip-hop club Spiro's is packed during Relays weekend.

"We cater to UT students, so student athletes come," General Manager Josh Cisneros said. "If they come, everyone comes, from all the surrounding colleges. We will probably turn away 3,000 people Saturday night."