CHAMPAIGN – Just before 10 Friday night, police were seeing fewer arrests, fights and students being sent to the emergency rooms for drunkenness at the Unofficial St. Patrick's Day celebration on campus – but they also feared that the partying might escalate in the late-night, early morning hours.

"It's busy – a lot of parties still," said Lt. Brad Yohnka at 9:50 p.m. "But I don't think it ever did reach the same level as it was the last couple of years. The numbers have been down. Arrests are down a bit. House parties are pretty consistent, I think."

He said there had been very few calls for emergency assistance for students.

But Yohnka noted that the bars opened later this year – 11 a.m.

"Maybe (the drinking's) starting with people later," he said. "Maybe the best – or worst – is yet to come. We just had our first fire call in a Dumpster."

State police Sgt. Bill Emery said earlier Friday evening that police were finding fewer underage drinkers, apparently due to the fact that several bars excluded customers under the age of 21.

"I can probably count on both hands the minor possessions," Emery said at about 8 p.m.

There was one bit of excitement on campus in mid-afternoon.

Mayor Jerry Schweighart ordered the shutdown of a campus bar, C.O. Daniel's, about 2 p.m. Friday, after undercover agents found that the bar was in violation of the state's Happy Hour law by selling a wristband for $15 that allowed the purchaser to drink unlimited amounts of alcohol.

"I got word early this morning they were doing that, and we got covert people in and confirmed it," Schweighart said. "That's a major violation of the state's Happy Hour laws. It promotes binge drinking. We felt it endangered the students."

Schweighart said the shutdown at C.O. Daniel's, 608 E. Daniel St., will include today as well.

The mayor said he will have to hold a "show cause" hearing within the next week to explain why the shutdown was ordered.

"I warned them before, I do not want you allowing binge drinking," he said.

C.O. Daniel's was also cited by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission and could face additional penalties, Schweighart said.

C.O. Daniel's Inc. is listed as the corporation that holds the city liquor license.

John Phillips, one of the bar's owners, said he thinks it was unfair, and the bar's attorney will be looking into the matter.

He said C.O.'s sold tickets to a private party, which is perfectly legal. An officer told him that the violation came because the party wasn't contained to a specific area.

With agents from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission in town and watching, some campus bars opted to only allow those age 21 or older to enter, including Kam's, 618 E. Daniel St., Joe's Brewery, 706 S. Fifth St., and Firehaus, 708 S. Sixth St.

"We think that was a good move and we thank the bars for doing that," said Rene Dunn, spokeswoman for the Champaign police.

Another campus bar, Murphy's Pub, 604 E. Green St., was letting 19 and 20 year olds enter, but only if they paid a whopping $20 cover charge.

City ordinance allows bars to admit 19 and 20 year olds, though they can't legally drink alcohol.

Dunn said that as of 7:15 p.m. Friday, Champaign and University of Illinois police had made 47 arrests in the Campustown area, most of them for underage drinking (10 tickets), or public possession of alcohol (29 tickets). "We're happy there's been fewer people out, fewer arrests, fewer safety issues," Dunn said at 7:15 p.m.

That's a big difference from last year, though police still had several hours to go before they could call Friday a night. Some campus bars will also be observing Unofficial, a bar-promoted drinking holiday for youths, again today.

Last year on Unofficial, police issued 176 tickets, including 119 for underage drinking and 22 for open alcohol possession. And 91 youths were sent to the hospital after drinking too much alcohol.

Dunn said several police agencies, including UI, Urbana and the Champaign County sheriff's office and Illinois State Police, have been assisting the Champaign Police Department and will be out again today in force. She declined to say how exactly many officers would be on duty.

The roster of those receiving tickets Friday included youths from the University of Wisconsin, the University of Indiana, Western Michigan, Illinois Wesleyan, DePaul, Beloit College, Western Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University, Loyola University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

News-Gazette Staff Writers Jodi Heckel, Meg Thilmony and Rebecca Mabry contributed to this story.