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Bag those bags before heading to Foxboro Friday night
By adamg on Thu, 08/15/2013 - 1:19pm
MBCR is reminding Patriots fans that new July Fourth-like security restrictions at Gillette Stadium mean they'll be turned away if they try to get into the stadium with largeish bags Friday night. And don't think you can just leave that stuff on the train to the game, because you can't. So think like you're heading out for a night of clubbing instead of a night cheering on (maybe) Brady:
Purses larger than a clutch bag, coolers, briefcases, backpacks, diaper bags, fanny packs, cinch bags, seat cushions, luggage, computer bags and camera bags are prohibited from the stadium. Fans with prohibited items will not be allowed access to entering the stadium plaza, gates, or queue lines.
Each person can bring a one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag or a clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bag that does not exceed 12" x 6" x 12". In addition to the clear bag, fans can bring a small clutch bag no larger than 4.5" x 6.5" with or without a strap.
Items that can be carried by hand or in pockets, such as binoculars, cameras, phones and blankets are allowed in the stadium. A separate entrance will be set up for fans carrying bags containing medically necessary items.
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Comments
The terrorists have won and
The terrorists have won and the price gouging concessions mafioso are dining our dead freedoms like the vultures they are.
We should all watch the games from the comfort of home to stick it to the venue operators.
Better yet, don't watch the games at all.
That way, the venue eventually loses out on the TV revenue as well.
Exactly
Exactly. If fans (and concertgoers) continue to put up with being treated as visitors to a prison to enter a stadium, then management has no incentive to change their policies.
I'm waiting for a reporter to ask the unscreened fans on the long lines to enter the stadium whether they are worried about a suicide bomber simply blowing himself up on the line to get in. Or about a crazed individual filling his car with explosives and blowing it up amongst the tailgating fans in the parking lot.
That these restrictions only apply to what you can bring in to the stadium and not what you can leave in your car show that none of this is about security, unless you mean the security of the concession revenues.
Or use one of the many HD
Or use one of the many HD quality NFL feeds online so you can watch the game and still not give your money to them.
Red Bull cliff diving
At the ICA on the waterfront is making you get tickets to this year's event. Even though they are free (next year they will probably charge) you need one for three different access points. And guess what? You cannot bring bags in.
Glad all those people
on platforms north of Boston this morning waiting for information about their trains, the vast majority of which will likely never set foot on the "football trains", or even go to a Patriots game this season, were forced to endure the endless repetition of the latest useless "nanny" message from MBCR.
But I guess they've got to justify the expense of those message boards somehow.
And the MBTA just sent out
not one, but two, T alerts about the issue.
:
Now, here's a quiz for everyone. Which one of these lines does the "football train" NOT operate on?
Wait, the T just sent an "All Clear" alert
Perhaps the NFL has resinded their new security policy (not!)
We're all adults here, right?
Then please don't be offended.
What if you're a lady and you need to bring some, you know, feminine hygiene supplies? I know we're all enlightened about such matters but I really don't want to be standing in line with a clear gallon bag with a bag full of those items.
And no, in case you were going to ask, they probably wouldn't fit inside a clutch the size of an index card.
I guess the women are supposed to stay home and make nachos for their men. Ro*Tel and Velveeta anyone?
My high school
Had a similar policy during state exam week: no one was allowed to bring any bags except a gallon zipper bag with necessary school supplies (pen, pencil, calculator, wallet.) If you brought a bag, you had to "check" it at the gate and it would be transferred to a different building via a facilities van. All lockers were chained shut. This was to prevent kids from calling in bomb threats and invalidating everyone's test scores.
And I agree with you- I don't have a large purse by any means, but I'd be hard-pressed to squeeze my wallet, phone, hand sanitizer, and inhaler in a clutch. It just wouldn't fit.
Between this nonsense
And the NFL's growing unwatchability, I'm thisclose to removing myself from the season ticket waiting list. And I've been on there 9 years.
A few minor points.
- No one really brings bags to Patriots games anyway, especially in nice weather.
- Hopefully people just won't bring bags and it won't even make a difference?
- It is a private event, they can tell you what you can or cannot bring. I don't see what the big deal is about that.
- A diaper bag is pretty big, and would have been searched anyway (before this year). And who the hell is bringing someone who needs their diaper changed to a Pats game anyway?
So, in your opinion
We should never let disabled people attend NFL games?
Seriously? Not even the guy whose dad pushes him in the marathon? (who happens to have a full-time job, btw, and make good enough money to buy his own ticket)? What about older people who have incontenence problems?
I realize that a stubbed toe seems to be enough to "disable" a police officer, but there are a goodly number of people who are chair users who are perfectly able to attend games, as well as active folks whose urinary incontinence issues are none of nobody else's business!
Bottom line: this is all about overtime security theater. Prove that any of this works with any real data (not nice stories about "we can't give you the details" but DATA on false positives, false negatives, etc.) and I might be otherwise persuaded.
Swirly, swirly
The NFL preseason has begun, and since these restrictions were put in place, not one pressure cooker bomb has been smuggled into a stadium.
Clearly these policies are very effective.
Grow up Swirly
I meant babies who need diapers, I wasn't referring to people who might need adult diapers. I was also referring to the fact that they DO ALLOW diaper bags, so it isn't like they are being turned away.
And yea, if you want to bring a bag into an event that has some personal effects that you might not want other people to know about (adult diapers, oxygen tanks, etc), you don't have the right to say "You have no right to look in my bag". It might work in your Portlandoregonatopia, but it doesn't work in the real world.
And how the hell would it be about overtime? You mean the NFL wants to spend more money on things it doesn't need?
Swrrly, why aren't you
Swrrly, why aren't you logging in? You make such a fuss about it.
Back to the topic at hand, if you're personally offended by the security, then you should stop going to Patriots games. Since when are you the spokesperson for all disabled people? Maybe, just maybe, people with disabilities aren't as disabled as you think and can speak for themselves! How arrogant of you to think your opinion represents their opinion. The families who I know who attend a few games a year with their little kids are happy to see stepped up security.
Stepped up security? Where?
What stepped-up security? If someone is crazed enough to want to cause mayhem, they'll just attack the checkpoint lines to get in. Or pack their car with explosives and set it off as the throngs of fans are leaving the game or are tailgating.
There's a sucker born every minute.
Agreed
Its true these security theater events do not work.. they just don't. I've never seen or heard news about how they stopped some big bomb or something by doing bag checks. Of course one could argue that the folks stay away because they are doing bag checks.
Sorry I see this nothing more than our rights being chipped away, regardless if it is a private or public event.
All in the name of "terrorism" *eye roll*
Of course it's a private
Of course it's a private venue and management can impose whatever restrictions on entry that it pleases.
And fans can choose to abide by said rules or vote with their wallets and feet and stay away in droves.
That doesn't negate that this is a guise for using safety as a means to boost concession revenues.
Food poisoning has killed tens of thousands of Americans over the past decade. The hamburgers fans are grilling as they tailgate are fare more likely to kill them than some pesky terrorists. But imagine the uproar if NFL management declared that in the interest of their fans' safety, they'd be conducting roving meat thermometer inspections in the parking lot.
Come on Saul....
I'll report it just like an NFL injury report:
Reasons for bag checks:
Security Theater- Probable
Concessions Revenue Booster- Doubtful
Fair enough
Probably also an element of CYA in there, in the rare event something did happen inside the stadium: "Look, we tried, we set up checkpoints, we can't be held liable."
I wonder if you can bring the official Pats propane tailgate grill into the parking lot? I mean, post-marathon, it seems a bit irresponsible, huh?
The understatement of the day
Probably an element of CYA?
Are you kidding? Let's remember that some nutcase bringing a bomb to an athletic event is now (and was even was before the Marathon) an unquestionably a foreseeable event and the NFL and all stadium owners have been put on notice of this risk (in multiple ways, including, if memory serves me correctly (and no, I will not spend the time to look for the document) by an explicit warning from DHS years ago)).
Let's not get down into the legal weeds and look at it from a common sense perspective: if there were no bag checks at Gillette and this was a known fact, why wouldn't a terrorist bring a bomb to a venue with 80,000 people closely packed together? There would be a near 100% chance of "success".
Hire trained bomb sniffing
Hire trained bomb sniffing dogs and add non-intrusive sensors. There's no need for this checkpoint madness.