Seattle Police to Seahawks fans: ‘Keep the partying on the ground’

Seattle Police are reminding football fans to celebrate safely this weekend during the Super Bowl. That means no drunk driving and no climbing century-old structures.

It’s understandable why some fans might get carried away: the Seattle Seahawks are not used to a lot of big wins. In their 50 seasons as a franchise, the Hawks have been to the Super Bowl twice — and come away with one precious trophy.

As the team heads back to the Super Bowl this Sunday, Seattle Police hope fans don’t repeat some celebrations from 2014. Namely: climbing the Pioneer Square pergola. That’s the cast iron and glass archway in the heart of Pioneer Square, at the corner of Yesler, First, and James.

“It was a few people up on top of it, but because it's so old, it is very fragile,” Patrick Michaud from the Seattle Police Department told KUOW.

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Michaud said during the 2014 celebration, revelers broke some glass panes in the structure from 1909. Volunteers raised thousands of dollars to repair it.

“ It's an icon of Seattle and specifically Pioneer Square, the oldest part of Seattle,” Michaud said, “so you can go dance around it, have a good time. Please don't climb on top of it.”

Seattle Police will have “lots of officers downtown” and extra DUI patrols out during the game on Sunday, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m.

Neighborhoods like downtown and Pioneer Square are expected to be packed with fans at watch parties and sports bars.

“ We encourage that, honestly,” Michaud said, “we just want everybody to be safe when they're doing it.”

He said Seattle Police are not planning to barricade the ornate Pergola or grease any power poles, as has been done in cities like Philadelphia. Besides, that’s more of an east coast thing anyway, Michaud said.

“Let’s just keep the partying on the ground,” he said, “that’d be great.”