Drinking beer while watching rodeos or car races is something of a tradition in the West. And the crowds at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds and adjacent speedway are no exception — despite a ban on alcohol.

"It’s a cultural . . . human-nature thing that’s pretty tough to prevent," fairgrounds manager Darryl Buffington told the county commissioners last week. "We’re hauling away truckloads of beer cans at the end of the bigger events."

The commission is considering lifting the ban on selling or possessing alcohol within the fairgrounds in order to pave the way for the controversial Four Corners Iron Horse Motorcycle Rally, which is considering moving to Montezuma County in 2002.

Enforcing the no-alcohol policy has been difficult, if not impossible, Buffington said, especially during bigger events such as the high-school rodeos, team roping events, the Ag Expo and county fair. Such multi-day events bring hundreds of visitors who spend the night in RVs, campers and elaborate horse or car trailers complete with sleeping quarters and refrigerators.

"The worst offenders are the parents at the high-school rodeos going back to their campers and trailers," he said. "We try and keep it out of the stands, but people are real discreet about it."

Broken glass has been a problem some nights, and invariably, underage drinking goes on, but overall the covert boozing has caused few disruptions, Buffington said.

"They know we’re not selling it so they pack it in themselves," he said. "If we allowed (alcohol) vendors, then that would give us more control, like with broken glass, plus we might as well make some money off of it because there is no stopping it."

Other fairgrounds in the Four Corners typically receive 25 percent of beer-sale revenues from vendors, part of which is used for cleaning up, he said.

If the ban was lifted for the rally, then alcohol sales would also have be looked at for other groups, the commission said. It was discovered that the county fairgrounds is the only one in the area banning alcohol sales.

Some want to keep it that way; others don’t.

"I’d just as soon keep alcohol away from the sport," said Duane Randol, vice president of the Fairgrounds Racing Association. "It could make us money, but it has caused problems for other race associations, so not having it saves us headaches."

While the association board has not taken a vote on the issue, Randol said that "it’s about 50-50" for and against it.

"I think more fans would come to the races if they knew they could buy a beer," commented racer Dennis Reib. "It would boost the stands and the income of the organization."

Separating drinkers from non-drinkers is done at other racetracks and seems to work well, Reib said.