Security wands won't greet fans

The Sports Authority cites logistical problems that likely would arise before Bucs games.

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 18, 2001

TAMPA -- The Tampa Sports Authority has rejected the use of security wands to screen fans at Raymond James Stadium, despite pleas from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"The logistics are a nightmare," Tampa police Maj. K.C. Newcomb said of wand searches.

Metal weapons that the wands could detect -- knives and guns -- aren't the primary threat in the post-Sept. 11 world, said Newcomb, who serves as security consultant to the board that runs the stadium. The board voted unanimously against the searches Monday.

Newcomb said the real threats are plastic explosives and biological agents carried in a test tube, and that the wands would useless against them.

The searches would create bottlenecks at the stadium gates, he said. Further, some stadiumgoer might bring a little pocketknife without knowing it was against the rules and be forced to return it to the car -- a long walk.

"The negatives far outweigh the positives," Newcomb said.

Early this month, when the Bucs asked for pat-down searches of stadiumgoers, the Sports Authority declined, citing constitutional concerns and the unwillingness of its private security firm, Wackenhut, to risk lawsuits that might arise from the practice.

But on Monday, Bucs lawyer Jonathan Jennewein told the Sports Authority that wand searches would be a feasible alternative, and that the team would pay for it.

"This is the trend," Jennewein said, noting that searches were widely used at stadiums in Europe. He said seven of the National Football League's 31 teams already used pat-downs -- the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants and the New York Jets -- and the Kansas City Chiefs use wand searches.

"The bottom line to us is the safety of the patrons of the stadium," Jennewein said, adding that the NFL had recommended but not mandated that stadiumgoers nationwide be searched.

The Sports Authority voted Monday to add additional posts and planters around the stadium, which is expected to minimize the threat of car bombs.

-- Christopher Goffard can be reached at 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright