U.S. Stadium Security Expert Reacts to Paris Attacks
When terrorists attacked several locations in Paris last Friday night — including the Stade de France stadium where a friendly soccer match was taking place — U.S. venues immediately took notice. They planned to increase the security at their own facilities over the weekend. But what happens next? Are U.S. sports facilities any more prepared than the French stadium, which did turn away the attacker and prevent him from actually getting in, but couldn’t stop him detonating a suicide vest so close to the arena that the ground shook inside?
“Immediately Friday night, the leagues met with Homeland Security to increase security for all the professional sports teams playing this weekend like the NHL, NFL and NBA,” says Lou Marciani, director of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi. “There was movement as early as Friday night to react to looking at issues facing us this weekend.”