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Oceanside Event Center asks commission to reduce police detail costs; commission approves 60‑day trial change
Summary
Oceanside Event Center manager asked the Revere License Commission for relief from required police detail costs. Police and fire officials expressed safety concerns; the commission approved a 60‑day trial to adjust posting and parking‑lot coverage with conditions.
Charles Delpitio, manager of Oceanside Event Center (formerly Wonderland) asked the Revere License Commission for temporary relief from the city’s police detail requirements, saying the cost of three posted officers and a fire detail can run nearly $1,600 a night and is threatening the venue’s ability to operate other rooms and retain staff.
Delpitio told the commission he has about 80 employees and that “if we can’t get any help, I’m gonna have to start laying off a lot of people.” He said the venue has been responsive to city requests in the past, citing Hurricane and COVID operations, and asked whether the police detail for the MBTA parking lot could be reduced or coordinated differently because the MBTA owns the lot.
Lieutenant Randall and Deputy Chief Paul Cheever of the fire department opposed reducing details without safeguards. “We’re opposed to any changes whatsoever to to the details,” the lieutenant said, adding that the current staffing is the “bare minimum.” Deputy Chief Cheever said the fire department will continue a presence in the ballroom and noted the department ran 28 calls to the property in the past year, with most incidents tied to the ballroom.
Commissioners and the venue negotiated a compromise: the commission agreed to a 60‑day trial during which the city will adjust how officers are posted (including increased parking‑lot patrols in lieu of a third static detail) and the venue will increase private security and doorman patrols of the lot. The commission said it will reinstate the full details immediately if complaints or incidents increase during the trial.
Delpitio said the venue would increase doorman patrols and consider moving patrons to other lots if feasible; he asked that the commission note that MBTA ownership complicates parking‑lot control. The commission required that Oceanside notify police in advance if smaller rooms will operate and that a 2‑hour notice window be used to reduce posted officers when patron counts remain low.
The commission also requested that the police department and venue monitor noise, parking and crowd movement over the 60‑day trial and report any incidents to the commission for immediate review.
