Though there was no public announcement made, Lee said organizers decided against it.
Show organizers had proposed the sale of beer at the family friendly event, which was ill-received by Lee and County Manager David Hankerson, who threatened to disallow Cobb Community Transit buses to be used in shuttling patrons if alcohol was served. Lee said fueling the anticipated crowd of 100,000 with beer would create "volatile risks."
Hankerson earlier said, "This is typically a family event, and if there's a mass exodus at the end with 100,000 people crowding onto the buses, and some of them have been drinking heavily, I see a problem with that."
Lee said Thursday night about the decision to slash the beer sale proposal, "I'm glad that's what happened. We wanted to support them and do what we can to have the public enjoy the show. I'm glad they made the decision to make it a great event for everybody."
Lee said the county will now "definitely" provide CCT buses for the event.
The buses are needed because the base does not have enough parking for everyone expected to attend. The buses were used to shuttle spectators from their vehicles to the 2008 Wings Over Atlanta air show; however, many people then were left waiting for the shuttle for more than two hours because of slow security checkpoints.
Organizers have said they are working on ways to improve the situation this year.
The 2010 air show will be free for the public. Headlining the event will be the Blue Angels, Canadian Snowbirds and the U.S. Air Force Academy Wings of Blue parachute team.
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This is not to say that I don't like alcohol. If beer were jet fuel, I could likely fly you to Osan with the amount I've gone through. However, this isn't the time/place to be pulling down drinks.
It is not for you to decide what is "family oriented" or not and just because alcohol is served at an event does not mean you or your family will have to be around "a bunch of drunks" Simply offering alcohol sales as an option for those who chose to partake does not mean everyone will nor does it mean that those who do can only have fun at the event by drinking alcohol.
It simply means we live in a society where baseball/football games, restaurants, and in fact air shows can offer alcohol sales to the public and the public can responsibly partake if they so choose.
The county threat to withhold the use of CCT at the air show if alcohol sales were permitted is on its face ridiculous. Could you imagine MARTA refusing to pick up people at Turner field or at the Georgia Dome because they sell alcohol? I certainly cannot because it does not make sense for them to do so.
and it makes no more sense on this side of the Chattahoochee.
Wise decision because I don't particularly care to have my family around a bunch of drunks. Contrary to the minority opinion, drinking is not a "family oriented" setting.
Yes, I know I am using the absurd to point out absurdity but it needs to be done. These kind of things make us look very backwards.