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Area Won't Step Up Enforcement At Strip Clubs For Game

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By BAIRD HELGESON

bhelgeson@tampatrib.com

Published: January 30, 2009

TAMPA - Strip club customers seeking the naughtiest of dances can enjoy them during Super Bowl week without increased risk of getting nabbed by police.

Local officials don't plan to devote extra manpower to check compliance of a 10-year-old city ordinance that prohibits customers from getting closer than six feet to nude dancers.

"There will be no stepped-up enforcement at area strip clubs," Mayor Pam Iorio said Monday. "Our focus will continue to be community policing and safety for all of our residents and visitors during Super Bowl week."

Local strip club owners praised the mayor for not using taxpayer dollars to police bawdy dances involving willing dancers and customers with cash.

"It's not like we are dragging customers into the building," said Nick Polefrone, general manager of 2001 Odyssey on Dale Mabry Highway, famous for its nude dancers and a rooftop VIP room shaped like a spaceship. "It's an adult entertainment business. People know what's going on in here."

It was not this way the last time the NFL's biggest extravaganza came to a town known for its abundance of strip clubs.

In 2001, law enforcement officials alerted the community they would beef up enforcement of what became known as the six-foot rule.

At the time, several city leaders were determined to rid the city of its strip clubs. Unable to outlaw the establishments, they crafted an ordinance to prevent nude dancers from getting too close to customers.

The idea was that the fun would end once the contact did. The customers would vanish, then the clubs.

The get-tough policy resulted in several police raids of local adult establishments. More than 200 dancers and customers were arrested at clubs in Tampa, including two Dallas Stars hockey players in town for a game against the Lightning.

The crackdown prompted the NFL to warn Super Bowl players of the risks they faced if they partook in nude dances.

But the strip club raids ended soon after, managers said. Things went back to normal, more or less.

Today, the Tampa Bay area has 43 strip clubs, according to research compiled by The Tampa Tribune.

The six-foot rule is still on the books. Bob Buckhorn, a former Tampa City Councilman who championed the ordinance, said he doesn't think the law is being enforced. That said, he has not ventured into the clubs to check compliance.

"We are unfortunately famous for these clubs," Buckhorn said.

As a sign of the informal truce between the city and strip clubs, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said there are no plans to warn players about the perils of lap dances this year.

Still, strip clubs don't want to antagonize the city. Managers get understandably bashful when talk turns to compliance with the six-foot rule.

How about an up-close lap dance at the 2001 Odyssey?

"We are doing what everybody else is doing," Polefrone said.

A brief pause: "We respect all legitimate laws."

Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668. Keyword: Strip Clubs, for information on area establishments.

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