Despite protests, "Girls Gone Wild" coming to Rome

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The "Girls Gone Wild" bus is en route to Rome, though parking may be a problem.

The bus was to stop in front of McCrobie's downtown, but Rome's Alcohol Control Commission vetoed the event,  saying it would violate the city's adult entertainment ordinance.

Owner Brent McCrobie, who said he paid $1,500 to bring the party bus to town, is still having a"Girls Gone Wild" theme night, though the bus is on its own.

"If it stops in front of my bar I'm sure they'll get a ticket," McCrobie said.

"Girls Gone Wild" makes several hundred such appearances each year in what is essentially a cross-promotional event. Wherever the bus goes, big crowds usually follow.

McCrobie said he's sold 250 tickets for Saturday night's theme party and concert, though on Tuesday the city was insisting a permit was necessary. The bar owner said he's since reached a compromise.

"We have tripled security and posted signs saying ‘please, no nudity,' " McCrobie said. "We will not break the law."

The bus, meanwhile, is scheduled to arrive in Rome at 2 p.m., McCrobie said. Its itinerary is uncertain.

"We're hearing that a church group will be out there protesting," McCrobie said.

Though the franchise has earned its salacious reputation, a recent appearance by a "Girls Gone Wild" bus in Syracuse, N.Y. provided little titillation.

"I thought the bus would be full of girls," student Matt Conte told the Syracuse University newspaper, The Daily Orange. "We all did."

Instead, the paper reported, the "Girls Gone Wild" bus contained "four modest-looking gentlemen and a bus driver -- plus two leather couches, bunk beds and a king-sized bed in the back." And no girls, wild or otherwise.