Thousands of college students flock
to South Padre for spring break
by Karen Brooks
Knight Ridder Newspapers
South Padre Island - The tide is high, and the groove
This relaxed little island just off the coast of South
Texas launched into the busiest week of spring break
Saturday, with masses of college kids braving chilly
weather to have, as one local lawyer put it, “a raucous
good time.”
They call it “Texas week” because most of the state’s
major universities are on break, and it brings a tsu
nami of change to the island as an estimated 150,000
visitors arrive with one mission: To play.
Everybody comes down to see and be seen, to have
a good time, said Marinda Reynolds, 21, a junior at
the University of Rhode Island.
The population grows to 15 times its usual size. An
estimated $2OO million pours into the economy. About
500 people will spend a few hours in jail.
This year, the economic effect may be slightly lower
than in recent years when up to 180,000 people flocked
to the resort, officials say. But the island needs as many
tourist dollars as it can get as it recovers from the col
lapse of the Queen Isabella Causeway last year. Eight
people were killed, and hundreds of millions of tourist
dollars were lost.
Some tourists are staying away because it is harder
to get into Mexico as a result of tighter border security
after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
A national economic downturn and a recent drop in
the number of airlines serving nearby Brownsville are
also hindering tourism, said Dan Quandt, executive di
rector of the South Padre Island Convention and Visi
tors Bureau. American Eagle pulled out of the area in
September, and Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines
halted service to the area a few months ago.
But the island’s residents face the hordes with confi
dence. Made famous just a few years ago as the fea
tured spring break party host on MTV, South Padre
Island is riding a crest so solid that the slight dip in
this year’s crowd causes little concern.
“We’re strong and stable,” Quandt said, “and from a
national standpoint I think we’ve increased our aware
ness as a spring break destination.”
If this year is going to be a slow one, it wasn’t evi
dent this weekend.
Despite rain and temperatures that dipped into the
50s, the stpdents masse on Saturday and
Sunday, changing vacationing as most
know it.
“It’s not to say we don’t have families who come
here - we do - but spring break is not the time we'd say
is family friendly,” Quandt said.
“Playboy” magazine activities on the beach, bar par
ties sponsored by Nair for Men and Trojan condoms,
binge drinking, dancing and sex in a cocktail are de
cidedly not for the weak of heart.
The bars are so busy that Los Angeles bartender Rob
Whittemore flies into town simply for the money he
can make for 12 days serving alcohol at Louie’s, a lo
cal hot spot.
“It’s a great time, and money is good,” he said as a
gaggle of Hawaiian Tropics models gyrated to cheer-
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ing crowds on the dance floor behind him. ‘This is my
fourth season. I never miss it.”
It’s not just the ambience of the island that changes
during spring break. The entire town shifts to accom
modate the onslaught.
With only 4,000 hotel rooms and rental condos avail
able on the island, spring break spillover fills up ho
tels in Port Isabel across the causeway and in
Brownsville, Texas, an hour’s drive to the south.
Hotels raise their rates, sometimes double or more,
and set up special registration and reception areas for
students. The Sheraton Fiesta Beach Resort requires
spring break partygoers to take an inventory of their
rooms before they get their room keys. Students wear
bright paper wristbands that identify their hotel.
The partying can get out of hand. Already, two sexual
assaults have been reported by out-of-town revelers.
Local law enforcement, federal border agents and state
alcohol regulators are doubling or tripling their pres
ence. Police expect to make about 500 arrests, mostly
for public intoxication or DWI.
Most of those nailed for public intoxication, consid
ering how many people are drinking, are not jailed,
police Chief Robert Rodriguez said.
“These are the people who were in pretty bad shape,”
Rodriguez said of the arrests for public intoxication,
an offense on par with a traffic ticket.
“It’s no big deal,” Reynolds said, noting that most
students don’t drive because of $2 cab fares and free
transportation services.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is dou
bling its personnel on South Padre to help stop under
age drinking, Rodriguez said. But his officers will prob
ably not stop people simply to check for open contain
ers, he said.
Commission agents are conducting sting operations to
hit both the suppliers and consumers, but officials say
they expect that the kids will try.
“We know that young people will still ignore our
warning and still try to get alcoholic beverages just
because it’s spring break, and it’s the thing to do,” said
Greg Hamilton, the commission’s chief of enforcement.
Spring Break by the numbers:
Number of revelers expected on South Padre Island.
150,000
Number of year-round residents: 2,400
Number of hotel rooms and rental condof: 4,000
Length of island: 34 miles
Estimated economic impact on the island:
$2OO million
Gallons in the world’s largest cocktail: 7,050
Number of servings in the world's largest cocktail.
44,000
Number of arrests expected: 500
Amount of contract for new national Venus Swimwear
model: $lOO,OOO
Number of restaurants: More than 50
Number of grocery stores: 1
(Sources: South Padre Parade Magazine, South
Padre Chamber of Commerce, Schlitterbahn)
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