I don’t have a lot of sympathy for either side of this battle.

For 20 years, the owner of Tailgaters Bar in Harmar and his tailgating team partied in lots between PNC Park and Heinz Field. That changed last year, when a lot attendant told Paterak his pre-game festivities were taking up too much room, he said, “and forced us to park the motor home next to another motor home where we couldn’t open the door.”

Alco Parking Corp., which operates all the lots between the two stadiums, is trying to rein in super-sized tailgating parties by requiring oversized vehicle parking passes. Beginning next football season, Steelers fans with vehicles requiring more than one space will have to buy season parking passes for $1,440 — the equivalent of four spaces for each of 12 home games. That’s the equivalent of $120 per game. Single-day sales, however, will no longer will be available for oversized vehicles.

The Steelers currently have 10 home games scheduled — two in the preseason and eight during the regular season.

It was unclear last night why Alco listed 12 home games.

“Every year, I’m accused of killing tailgating,” said Merrill Stabile, Alco president. “It’s really a matter of crowd control.”

During past Steelers seasons, drivers of recreational vehicles, campers, vehicles pulling trailers, limousines, large trucks and others that don’t fit into a single space purchased multiple parking passes for $30 a space. The buyers decided how many to buy.

Many bought fewer spaces than their mammoth wagons could fit — most RVs need four — and then argued with lot managers who tried to collect for all spaces used, Stabile said.

Now, I have no doubt that the Alco people are not about “crowd control,” they are about making as much money as possible. Not even up for debate. They do their best to over-stuff as many vehicles into a lot as possible for the biggest price they can charge.

Having said that, tailgaters who want to park in the premium areas have to make a choice. Either sacrifice some space (or more cash) or sacrifice the convenience of being able to stumble into the stadium from a shorter distance.

I’m sure this will also have some impact for parking for Pitt games.

We tailgate at one of the lots that is further away (though it really doesn’t seem that big of a distance), and find it gives us more space to spread out. Our group has at least two cars, so we do the whole thing where we park and leave a space in between to set up the chairs, grill, coolers and table. Of course, the lot is rarely completely packed by the time we head into the game.

I worry about this because the tension seems to be increasing between the parking lot operators and the tailgaters, and I don’t like the odds that the police and politicians will side with the tailgaters. Tailgating has become a big operation, and for some extremely elaborate. The large majority don’t cause much of a problem.

At the same time, there seems to be a growing minority — or at least more awareness and attention given to them — of tailgaters who seem to treat the thing like their annual trip to see Jimmy Buffet. It’s their excuse (treated as if it’s some right) to get as drunk, stupid, bellicose and beligerent as they can. The game is just secondary.

I’m all in favor of the drunk part. I largely support stupid. Belicose and beligerant, however, are the problems. Those lead to the excuse for the parking lot operators and the police to crack down on everyone. That leads to further, insane neo-prohibitionist actions or cries for actions that is always “for the children.”

Everytime, some idiot runs on the field at a game or does something stupid in the stands, we have to hear the joyless sportswriters call for stricter and stricter alcohol bans. Because if it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have stupid idiots at games. Just because they are on a deadline and can’t drink in the pressbox any longer, they think no one else should either. Mike Wilbon on “Pardon the Interruption” is the worst about this.

Stop beer sales after the 3rd quarter or after the 7th inning. Then it’s stop after halftime and the 5th inning. What happens when they get the full bans and people still do stupid crap? Then it will be calls for better policing in parking lots and at the gates. With or without alcohol, stupid people will do stupid things.