Boise State opens its home football schedule Saturday night at Albertsons Stadium. The game vs. Colorado State marks the first time fans entering the stadium will be required to walk through metal detectors.
The university has purchased nearly $200,000 worth of equipment to help beef up security.
Greg Hahn, a university spokesman, says Idaho’s recent change in campus gun laws led Boise State to make the move.
The new law allows some people to carry concealed guns on the campus, but no one is allowed to carry them into venues that hold more than 1,000 people.
As a result, fans should expect to see longer lines getting into the game, though Hahn says the school isn't expecting dramatic increases in wait times.
"Obviously we want people not to wait for five minutes before kickoff to get in because you might not see it,” he says. “I don’t think there’s a need to go two hours before the game starts. Forty-five minutes to an hour, even less than that – you’re probably going to be okay.”
Fans are asked to leave bags at home or use clear bags for the things they want to carry into the stadium. Fans using clear bags or without bags at all will be able to use a special lane meant to expedite the security process.
Screening areas will be placed at the outside of stadium gates, where tickets will be taken as you enter. Bags will be searched and fans will be asked to empty their pockets and pass through the walk-through metal detector. If the detector is alarmed, that guest will go through a secondary screening process. In most cases the fan will be moved along without delay, however, in some necessary cases additional screening will be done by security. - BroncoSports.com
Hahn says the added equipment has tripled the size of the privately-contracted security staff to about 150 workers. Once fully operational, Boise State's new security system will use about 50 metal detectors.
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