Vegas spree may affect Fla. events outdoors

More than a month later, the Las Vegas concert shooting on Oct. 1 has receded from the headlines. And it’s not clear what impact the worst mass shooting in U.S. history will have on outdoor events — and the economies they support.

The most visible features of security for any event, from fairs to sporting events, have generally been on-site — metal detectors at entrances, perimeters extending to the edge of venue grounds, armed guards patrolling entrances and the like. The idea being to contain and immediately eradicate an attack on the venue premises.

That may need to be revised in the wake of the horrific Vegas attack in which a shooter killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more by spraying indiscriminate gunfire from the 32nd floor of a hotel toward the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival venue several football fields away.

South Florida is the place of choice for some very popular outdoor events and festivals in urban settings surrounded by tall buildings. The potential impact from public safety concerns on those fairs, concerts and street festivals would have ripple effects on jobs, tourism and tax revenues.

Locally, spokeswoman Melissa Sullivan said SunFest, one of those events, would not discuss security plans. But she said public safety and security has “always been an important part of our overall planning process.” That process, Sullivan said, has seen an increasing number of variables over the years and “now more will be added.”

She added: “We work closely with all the local and state public safety partners and those on a federal level as well. These agencies are the experts in public safety and work with us to assess and plan for potential emergencies. While we are still in the planning process for 2018, we are working with the safety professionals to learn as much as we can from the recent tragedies.”

For the record, I once headed an organization that helped originate one of the more recent concerts — the Tortuga Music Festival on Fort Lauderdale beach. From that experience, I gained a cursory knowledge about risk, liability and insurance coverage.

So, another question, this one from a business perspective, is whether the liability will become so great for outdoor festivals that, say, insurance coverage will become prohibitively expensive.

Liability and insurance attorney Steve Osber of Kelley Kronenberg said he does not think so, largely because ultimately it will not come down to insurance coverage but personal risk.

“The insurance carriers have developed a way out,” said Osber, who has litigated lots

of insurance liability and coverage cases involving nightclubs and entertainment. “And that way out is in what they are willing to cover and what they are not willing to cover.”

Many insurance policies have “not our problem” clauses for acts of God, war and terrorism.

As for security, there is only so much that can be secured, Osber said, and we are all doing “what they do in Vegas — take a gamble” by attending.

“Unfortunately, that is the way it is,” said Osber. “America is a scary place right now.”