Heightened security will be less instrusive: Officials

Heightened security checks for Peterborough Petes games and other ticketed Memorial Centre events will be less intrusive than many other OHL centres, says facility manager Jeremy Giles.

Patrons will not be required to walk through metal detectors or be wanded like some OHL centres, said Giles, as his staff prepare to begin new security measures with Thursday’s Petes home opener against the Erie Otters.

“The Memorial Centre is one of two existing OHL facilities that hadn’t in the past done any form of screening at the gate,” Giles said.

“Joining with the pressures from the league, the city’s insurers and doing our due diligence as facility managers we will be rolling out conditions of entry at the gate which is basically looking for prohibited items and anything which could affect the safety and well-being of the general public when they enter the facility.”

Patrons may be subject to a light baggage check by trained security staff, he said.

“Fans as they enter will see new signage talking about the code of conduct within the facility and general messaging about prohibited items and potentially being subject to a bag search. Bag search is something we will be implementing at the gate upon entry.

“It will be a very non-invasive search. We will not be making people empty their bags on an every case basis or anything like that. We won’t be doing any wanding or metal detection.”

Additional staff has being hired to do the checks, he said.

“The reason for that is so we don’t create slowdowns and bottlenecks at the gates. We’re trying to do this with the least amount of disruption and aggravation to the fans,” he said.

Giles said arenas division staff consulted with the city’s emergency and risk-management personnel to tailor a policy appropriate for the size of the city and facility. Larger centres, such as the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont., have chosen to go to walk-through metal detectors. The PMC, said Giles, is also unique compared to other venues in the city due to its size and the events it attracts.

“This only applies for ticketed events. We are not going to have people standing at the gate if you’re coming here for a 7 a.m. five-year-olds Tim Bits hockey game,” Giles said.

“It’s not meant to be intrusive or to infringe on individual’s privacy,” said Petes GM Mike Oke.

“It’s a move designed to insure the safety of the spectators, safety of the rink staff and safety of the players and team officials. Certain facilities have different security protocol. I think the protocols being put in place are very respectful of individual’s privacy who are coming into the rink. It’s not intended to be anything other than to make sure we’re here in a safe environment and everybody feels comfortable during the events or games.”

Oke said it’s standard procedure at professional sporting events and agrees it’s a sign of the times.

“We’ve seen different events around the world,” he said.