Protests of applications to sell beer at Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor in Arlington are being directed to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
“Do we really want to send our youth groups – our church youth groups – to places where alcohol is served?” local Christian leader Linda Rosebury asked in an interview with KCBI-FM, the radio station of Criswell College in Dallas.
The sale of beer, Rosebury said, threatens the park’s image as a safe place for families.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Andrea Ahles wrote that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission had received 600 calls and a dozen letters as of Jan. 8, all protesting Six Flags’ Dec. 17 announcement to apply for liquor licenses. After a mandatory 60-day waiting period ends Feb. 17, TABC will review the application and protests to determine whether a public hearing will be held.
Six Flags officials claim the beer application is in response to customer requests for beer, and pledged that such sales would be handled responsibly and would safeguard guest safety.
Noting the park’s pledge to offer quality guest services, John Bement, Six Flags in-park services senior vice president, told the Southern Baptist TEXAN, “For quite some time, many of our guests have requested beer as an option while dining or visiting the park. In fact, several of the parks in the Six Flags system already provide such amenities, and have done so successfully and responsibly for many years.”
Bement added, “As with our other parks, we will have very strict guidelines in place for Six Flags Over Texas, along with extensive training to ensure the serving of beer is done in a controlled and responsible manner. We only intend to sell beer and have no present plans to offer mixed drinks or hard liquor, like some of our other competitors such as Schlitterbaun.”
Letter writers have raised a variety of concerns, with one noting that TABC should conduct an alcohol impact study to determine the threat to public safety.