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The Lost, the Found and the Confiscated

Where exactly did your keys end up?

Vox Staff

At the rainy Nebraska game, umbrellas were a common item people brought that were not allowed in the stadium.

By Victoria Uwumarogie

October 22, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST

On what should have been a wonderful day for bloodthirsty rivalry in football, the sun was on sabbatical, and the rain arrived. Although the spirits of both Missouri and Nebraska fans remained high on Oct. 8, and garbage bags fashioned as ponchos made their fall fashion debut, and some attitudes flipped when ticket-holders found out the unexpected: No umbrellas allowed. “I think that’s really stupid,” said spectator Kelsey Goodrich. “How are we supposed to be at the game and be comfortable?” Some umbrellas’ fates lay in garbage cans while others made their way into the lost and found.

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Getting Goods in the Gates

At entrances and inside the stadium, bright gold signs tell fans what they can’t have. Outside food, video equipment, backpacks and alcohol are just a few prohibited items. To drive the point home, event staff sits outside section gates with bullhorns, shouting out prohibited items until fans have them memorized. According to Colleen Lamond, director of game operations, umbrellas are the No. 1 prohibited item in college sports venues on rainy days: “If you open up an umbrella, it’s larger than the width of the 18-inch seat that you bought,” she says.

If you bring prohibited items to a game, you’ll have a hard time getting them in because bags are required to be opened and checked. One bold patron who nonchalantly tried to walk in the stadium with a Shakespeare’s cup full of beer was surprised when it was pulled out of his hands by an event staff worker. If banned items are found, event staff will make you leave them outside or ask you to throw them away. Alcohol is disposed of immediately by MU Police.

Certain foods are allowed entry, but only for those with medical conditions. Chris Phelps, a paramedic for the University, is one of the workers who checks food. “We will allow diabetic individuals who have problems maintaining their blood glucose to have certain snacks available with them at all times,” Phelps says. He admits that there is no way to verify these conditions: “It’s a trust thing, we just hope they’re honest,” he says. Surely they are: Half-inebriated football fanatics are the epitome of honesty.

Off to Your Concrete Seat

If you didn’t bring a prohibited item, congratulations; you’ve made it to your seat. During game day, many of the 60,000-plus spectators lose items when they leave their seats during halftime or at the end of the game. Honest citizens pick up and return binoculars, credit cards and house keys while others walk past. Once abandoned items are found, their first stop is at guest services, located on the east and west concourses.

Cornhuskers fan Aaron Lockee, who lost a set of keys, came to guest services with a mixture of hope and confusion: “I must’ve just been checking for my ticket, and they just fell out of my pocket,” he says. He’ll check back after the game to see if his keys wind up in the gamut of lost-but-found items. Items found range from cell phones to glasses and sometimes even children. To alleviate the latter, free child ID bracelets were created this year. Nonliving items not claimed are given to MU Police, who put them in storage.

Locked Up

Binoculars and furry tiger tails from games are subject to a harsh reality when they end up at the MU Police Department. They sit in a wood-and-chicken-wire cell for neglected goods, housed in between an evidence locker and a random Christmas tree. To claim an item, individuals have to come to the station for verification. If items aren’t claimed after 60 days, they are sent to the University’s Surplus Property Unit for auction. All clothing is donated to the Salvation Army.

The Lost Gets Found, Again

Mizzou’s surplus property, located at 1507 Capen Park Road, is the last stop for items before redistribution to the public. “Seventeen-and-a-half, hey 17-and-a-half, SOLD at 17.50!” yells the auctioneer. Some spectators are here for the first time, others are veterans. Each auction draws around 150 people ready to claim your valuables as their own. “I haven’t missed one in about three or four years,” says Dennis Moses, a regular. When lost-and-found items are auctioned, 65 percent of revenue is given back to the places they were found. The auctions occur every three to four weeks on Wednesdays at 10 a.m., and the next one is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Mizzou football games are a nightmare for those who lose valuables, such as Lockee. He went back to guest services, but learned that his keys were still lost. To avoid these headaches, leave behind anything you don’t need during the game, and condense all useful items in a small bag. For a complete list of prohibited items check out mutigers.com. But, if you choose to break the rules, here are a few tips: Sneak your contraband in under your coat, purchase a purse with secret compartments, or just smuggle in a flask. Everybody wins.

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