If people are as bothered by Peanuts as I am by most perfumes/colognes, I would support a peanut-free zone. In lieu of bathing, some people I think just add another layer of “cover-up”. I’d prefer smelling someone’s body odor vs their (cheap) perfume/cologne.

So if the establishment of a peanut-free zone will create a healthy environment that attracts fans whose allergies prevents them from otherwise attending games, let’s go with it!

It’s a nice gesture, however I don’t think it will help much at the Cardinals game, being outdoors. How will designating a section prevent them from being near peanut shell dust? The people sitting on the end of section whatever will be right next to the people sitting on the end seats of the next section over. I sympathize with those with alergies, but designating one section isn’t going to help much When the wind blows, it blows things from further than one seat away.

And what good does it do to call a section peanut free for the Cards starting on July 21? For all I know, I have a block of them. Are they going to make people trade their tickets to people with peanut alergies? Odds are the people who have peanut allergies that have tickets are not sitting in that section. I don’t recall there being a peanut allergy questionaire when I bought my ticket package.

I think it’s just a stupid PR gimmick at best. While they’re at it, I have a few ideas. Why don’t they make section 114 cotton candy and nacho free. Cotton candy and nachos are dangerous in that they make children fat. I think parents should have the option of going to a game without their fat children facing the temptations of cotton candy and nachos. Also, I think section 312 should be kosher, to appease the Jewish people who wish to come to a game and not wonder if their hot dog was inspected by a rabii or not. Also, for those people who wish to attend a game and not have their fashion senses offended, I think section 343 should have mullets, butch haircuts, and J.C. Penny’s clothing banned.

I think this is a great idea. We already have peanut-free sections in many school cafeterias and some restaurants, so it is not like this is something totally outlandish. To all of those people who are saying that they should not have to accomodate people with allergies, I agree only to an extent. I am allergic to cats, but I don’t expect people to get rid of their cat when I come over. I simply avoid them. But, even if I have to be near a cat, the worst injury I will have is sneezing, itching, and coughing.

But, for people with a peanut allergy, it is not as simple as avoiding them. The dust from anyone who is eating them in the vicinity can cause severe injury or death.

Besides, it is not as though these ballparks are saying “No peanuts allowed.” They are simply creating one section to accomodate those with an allergy. It is just like having a choice between smoking or a non-smoking section at a restaurant. (Ok, assuming that restaurant is not part of a smoking ban…) You have a choice to sit in a special section or not. A variety of choices is what makes this country great! That, and baseball!

Kudos to the Cardinals and the Rascals who are getting some great publicity out of this. This was a great PR move. Just look at all the comments….

Unless its enclosed in a bubble will it really be all that much safer?

If your child or you have a deadly reaction to peanuts will you be willing to trust the minimum wage immigrant cleaners to keep that one area totally free of peanuts? Sounds like you would really be taking a chance.

I guess its the thought that counts. What about other allergies. Will there be a section for them too?

Great Idea HERE - Ballparks have group ticket sales. Have the SPECIAL organization buy the tickets well in advance and distribute as they see fit. Make special requests of Ball Park staff to prepare them for your groups SPECIAL NEEDS. I would think reasonable requests would be honored, such as, in this case, hosing down the section, having Emergency Personnel nearby. Then NO BIG DEAL is made of the situation. It’s a win win for everybody except possibly the home team.

I’d like to offer some education, as the mother of a peanut-allergic child, on this subject since there seems to be some confusion. It is EXTREMELY RARE that someone would have an airborne reaction to peanut dust. People with this type of peanut allergy should avoid places like ballparks at all costs. It is much more common for people to have contact allergy (from touching - not anaphylactic) or ingestion allergy (from eating - can be anaphylactic). Let’s say for instance someone ate some peanuts, got the peanut oil on their fingers, then touched a handrail. If my son then touched that handrail and put his hand in his mouth, he would have a severe allergic reaction that would require an epipen to be administered and a trip to the emergency room for treatment. This is my reality, and it can happen ANYWHERE. I’ve learned to live with it and to deal with my own anxiety. Because of this, the Cardinals and Rascals have a crew who will be deep cleaning each section where we will be sitting with our children. This cleaning operation will be supervised. There will also be ushers there in case of an emergency and EMTs onsite nearby. Yes, there will be people in the ballpark eating peanuts, and yes there will be areas where the peanut shells are unavoidable. However, on these days at the ballparks, as we do in real life, we will take the proper precautions to protect our children in case of the rare chance that there would be a reaction. These teams are not trying to sterilize the entire area and put us in a bubble, they are just trying to lessen the likelihood of a reaction so we can enjoy a day at the ballpark just like any other family. We live this everyday, people! We carry epipens and benadryl and wet wipes in our purses! Until you’ve lived it, you have no right to speak down upon us! As many of you have said, the world cannot cater to every disability, and you are very much correct! However, this is just a small accomodation that is not inconveniencing anybody. These teams are doing something nice for our kids to let them have just a little bit of normalcy, and the results of their kindness will be long-lasting.

MAybe the cardinals should have ‘bubble’ kid day. Where they hand out plastic bubbles to enclose your kid in so they dont touch anything dirty or touch peanuts. Also What about everyone elses allergies. I allergic to nuts, and stupid idiot people. Like the people that came up with idea and agree with it.

This is GREAT NEWS. And I ask you this, Teresa, and the other complainers: what are you sacrificing by not sitting in that one tiny section? What are you giving up? I guarantee that if you had a child with nut allergies, your tune would change overnight. You are speaking out of both ignorance and hostility, a scary and dangerous combination. For your information, we do not have our child sit in the peanut-free table at school because we have educated him and his friends to keep their food to themselves. He takes his own hostess cupcake to birthday parties. We have NEVER ASKED for any accommodation WHATSOEVER. But when it comes to baseball games, how am I supposed to prevent the adults around us from literally throwing their peanuts around? I can’t. If people had better manners with their peanuts, this would not be a problem. THANK YOU CARDINALS!

Well, since it isn’t a set aside for women or minorities, the conservatives should be ok with it. But folks need to realize, a lot of these allergies are brought on from chemical exposure. I don’t mean each attack follows exposure, but they have found exposure to chemicals during pregnancies can cause allergic flare-ups and tendencies later. Exposure after birth just aggravates and enlarges the issue. Stress also brings on allergies in kids.
If you truly care about kids, don’t expose them to chemicals in their environments or foods. Fake flavorings and colors are chemicals. Many are used in home improvement products for god’s sake! Folks still smoke around their kids and that causes allergy problems, no matter how much the addict wants to deny it. Quit scheduling kids within an inch of their lives. Stress equals sickness. And you do know men you breed with who drink or smoke, or have exposures can be just as damaging to a fetus as the mother, doncha? Sperm of older fathers causes issues too in fetus immune systems.
Traditional medicine often won’t admit chemical and stress connections because some are linked to companies that make the chemically-filled products. Now wouldn’t it be ironic if the protected ones got hit by a drunk who drank alcohol at the game on the way home?
This was a surprisingly nice move by that ballpark to accomodate the affected. Easier than giving up the all-american lifestyle that brings on the allergies. We didn’t use to have these affected kids in these numbers. Sumpin’ is up that all the separate seats in the world won’t solve. Parents whose children ARE affected would do well to research and think otuside the box, because if your kid has some illness the drug companies are profiting from, they will not want the disease to be cured. Bad for the bottom line, doncha know! Lest you poo-poo this as liberal drivel, ask the many who moved away from the more polluted areas, got their kids on a decent diet and quit smoking around them how much better they do day to day.

As the mom of a son with peanut/tree nut allergy, I am thrilled at this! While he’s still a little young to go with his recent diagnosis it feels like any new experience is a scary one but I look forward to having an option as he gets older for him to have the experience. I know we can’t change everything to protect every situation but I appreciate places like a ball park making an effort to include.