The Grateful Dead represents a touchstone of another kind for Carson residents who live around the newly christened Home Depot Center at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

The band’s infamous 1990 concert at the now demolished Olympic Velodrome is used as a kind of ghost story told around the communal campfire. The tale of 70,000 Deadheads partying, urinating in people’s yards and getting arrested for drugs nearly rallied this city of 90,000 to reject the $150 million soccer mecca.

Sheriff’s Capt. Todd Rogers remembers. He was in the field.

Those two nights were in the back of his mind as he handcrafted an inch-thick plan to police the Home Depot Center, which has its first event this weekend, and protect the area around Dominguez Hills.

“We don’t anticipate a repeat of the Grateful Dead, such a large crush of people,” said Rogers, now the city’s de facto chief of police.

But his force will be ready.

From 20 to 40 deputies and non-sworn officers will work each event on overtime pay from Anschutz Entertainment Group, the sports center’s owner and developer.

“We’re going to be inside the venue supplementing their staff, around the venue and manning key points and barricading the streets outside the venue,” Rogers said.

Finding the best way to staff events, control traffic and lessen parking problems in nearby neighborhoods was a two-year process of communicating with Anschutz, the city of Carson, Cal State police and residents. The meetings were supplemented with research of how other agencies handled Los Angeles Galaxy soccer games at the Rose Bowl, the Anaheim Angels at Edison Field and the Anaheim Ducks at the Arrowhead Pond.

Rogers believes the only other entertainment venue the Sheriff’s Department handles is Universal CityWalk.

“We do not have a lot of experience managing a soccer stadium,” Rogers said. “Everything is subject to change. If we decide we need additional personnel, we will have more. If we have too many, we will scale back.”

Deputies will monitor known “choke points” to keep traffic moving and use remote signal controllers for the traffic lights. Officers and barricades will hinder eventgoers from traveling into residential neighborhoods.

“In and out is our priority,” Rogers said. “But we’re also making a contingency for folks that live in the area.”

The 8,400 parking spaces on campus should be enough for most events, Anschutz officials said, based on their studies that found Los Angeles Galaxy soccer fans brought 3.84 people per car. And shuttles will be used for major events, such as the Fourth of July or the Major League Soccer all-star game, to ferry people from the nearby Southbay Pavilion shopping center.

Anschutz officials acknowledge there will be a learning curve with fans unfamiliar with the city and have started an education campaign. Signs lead fans from freeway exits to the stadium and parking pamphlets with maps were sent out to last year’s ticket buyers.

In part because of previous concert debacles, residents have put the stadium under intense scrutiny.

“We are living a lot with ghosts of bad concerts past,” Home Depot General Manager Beth White said.

In addition to worrying about traffic impacts across the city and along the freeways, residents insisted no public funds be used for the multimillion dollar project.

And City Manager Jerry Groomes said Anschutz has footed the entire bill.

In addition to paying for security and deputies, Anschutz spokesman Michael Roth said the company spent $1.5 million to mitigate traffic. That includes adding a traffic signal, widening streets, painting curbs and adding signs.

Eight intersections will be reconfigured around the university neighborhood, which will feel the brunt of the approximate 100 annual events.

Gil Smith, who lives next to the sports complex, said the track-and-field grandstands “rise like Mount Everest” outside his bedroom window. “The stadium lights shine directly on my house,” Smith said. “They are so high they light up my bedroom.”

Those and other neighborhood-centric complaints are still being ironed out, Smith said. The former Carson city councilman is one of the leaders of the University Heights Homeowners Association, one of two neighborhoods that received concessions from Anschutz.

“How it works is yet to play out,” Smith said. “We know it will not be perfect.”