CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Teens wanting to hang out at Northlake Mall on a weekend night are going to have to start bringing along mom, or another adult, under a new policy that begins June 12.
The shopping center will require anyone under age 18 who visits after 5 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday to be accompanied by someone 21 or older.
The new policy is meant to improve safety and combat growing numbers of unsupervised teens visiting on weekend nights, general manager Phil Morosco said.
"When you have such a large amount of unsupervised youngsters together, it is difficult to provide a safe environment," Morosco said. "We believe that an adult supervision policy is in everyone's best interests."
A similar policy is in place at Carolina Mall in Concord. Concord Mills and SouthPark in Charlotte do not have age restrictions.
Though spending aimless time at the mall is a modern teen tradition, in this case one group's rite of passage proved to be another's nuisance. The north Charlotte mall had noticed the number of unsupervised youths growing for more than a year, Morosco said, and began considering the policy as a result. Morosco said he'd heard from store managers concerned about the teen crowds.
The move wasn't prompted by any single incident, but rather a general sense that problems could arise due to the growing volume, Morosco said. "We certainly love the young people coming to our shopping center," he said. "We'd love to have them still be here on Friday and Saturday nights. We're just asking they come with a responsible adult over 21."
The age restriction applies only to common areas, not to the movie theater or anchor stores with outdoor entrances, such as Borders and Belk.
The mall plans on enforcing it by approaching those believed to be under 18 to see whether they know about the policy. Violators will then be asked how they got to the mall, and will be allowed to call for a ride. They'll then return to where they were dropped off, or to a bus stop if they arrived by bus, Morosco said.
Northlake will pass out informational brochures about the policy for the next four Friday and Saturday nights and will distribute them to local schools.
At least 40 other malls nationwide have similar policies, including the giant Mall of America in Minneapolis, which has had one for more than 10 years. Morosco said Northlake sought advice from other shopping centers in formulating its policy. "Every one of them said they would do it again in a heartbeat because it's worked out so well," he said.
Carolina Mall in Concord requires those under 18 to be supervised by someone over 18 after 6 p.m. every night, though the rules have proven most beneficial on weekends, operations and marketing manager Tammy Thomas said. The policy, in place most of this decade, has helped cut down on the number of students loitering at the mall and prevents people from dropping off their kids and leaving them, she said.
"When everything is under control, we don't have issues deterring other customers from coming in," she said. "It was a way to improve the shopping atmosphere and improve the experience for our customers."
