New security upgrades for Notre Dame football games
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – New security upgrades are being put in place at Notre Dame’s stadium. In the age of mass shootings, it’s becoming an unfortunate fact of life. On Saturday, Fighting Irish football fans will have to walk through metal detectors before going into the stadium.
Security officials for Notre Dame said these shouldn’t slow down lines too much. That’s because these metal detectors aren’t like the ones you see at the airport, you don’t have to empty your pockets or take off your shoes.
Fans are preparing for a big day tomorrow. Notre Dame is playing New Mexico in the first home game of the season.
“Usually, particularly for the first home game, we’re going to be in the 100 to 125 thousand people on campus,” University Spokesman, Dennis Brown, said.
With thousands of fans set to flood the stadium in support, new safety measures are taking place.
“We want to be able to look at every fan, everybody that comes to campus, say safety is our priority,” Mike Seamon, the Vice President of Campus Safety said that’s why they added metal detectors.
“We have well over 100,” Seamon said. “It’s at every door and every gate of the stadium.”
He said it will be a seamless process and that you just walk through without emptying your pockets or taking off your shoes.
Although fans agree more safety measures are good, some still worry about the lines.
“Being at many of these games, it does take quite a lot of time to get in. So, I think with this added layer of security, although it’s a very good measure, people are going to have to start planning a lot earlier to get into the stadium, more than they ever have now,” said Charlie Kreilick.
Brown said there are other parking changes that will help fans to get in and out of the stadium faster.
“One of them is opening up the westbound traffic on Angela Boulevard on the south side of the campus,” Brown said.
There will also be additional shuttles and message boards giving drivers real-time information on the traffic.
“It’s been very tough getting in and out of games for all these years, hopefully, that’s going to alleviate some of that problem,” Kreilick said.
Remember the clear bag policy is still in effect. Meaning all of your things need to be in a clear bag or a Ziplock bag. Wallets are also ok. If you do not, security will not let you in and there are no areas or lockers to put your stuff.
ABC57 will be handing the bags out Saturday during our Saturday Kickoff Show from 10 to noon.
Since the game Saturday is set to bring tons of fans to this stadium, hotels in the area are already at full capacity since Thursday night.
Stefan Gruvberger, the General Manager of Embassy Suites said this season doesn’t have the best lineup for home games but they are seeing just as much business.
“I think it’s a medium interest, but for example, we got the Virginia game that we’ve already sold out, we sold out quite a while ago. And the USC game has been sold out for at least 6 months.”
Gruvberger said they open up reservations a year in advance and he is already getting several requests for next season.