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You'd think Gillette Stadium would know how to do crowd control
By adamg on Mon, 07/22/2013 - 9:11am
Masshole Mommy reports the stadium appeared to have only five or six security lines for the sold-out Bon Jovi show on Saturday:
We were all getting pushed & shoved and a fight even ended up breaking out not far behind us. Add in the fact that the security people were moving in slow motion and not thoroughly checking people anyways and that made it even more awesome to wait for so long.
The people that run security at Gillette should be ashamed of themselves. It was a sold out concert, so I am not sure why there wasn't as much security as a Pats game, but trust me – there was maybe an eighth of the amount of a game.
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Comments
It was a Bon Jovi concert.
It was a Bon Jovi concert. Can you blame Gillette for assuming nobody was gonna show?
Theater
Come on, of what use is security theater without an audience held hostage outside to watch?
The concertgoers were more tightly packed on the lines to be screened than they'd be in their actual seats. Someone looking to cause mayhem would only need to attack the screening lines.
Unless of course the real purpose of "security" checks is to limit what deadly outside food and drink can be brought in. Naaahh.
Ridiculous
It was ridiculous. Three phases of security that were poorly managed. I actually felt bad for folks who had 'good' seats who went through the whole thing only to find they didn't have to bs in those lines.
Cool lightning storms in the distancs, tho.
hard time at the bon jovi concert?
you deserve it.
Yeah loser. Didn't you know
Yeah loser. Didn't you know that you aren't cool unless you're hanging with bostnkid at Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters
captain geech and the shrimp shack shooters are in town?
?
Not to nitpick, but it wasn't
Not to nitpick, but it wasn't a sell out, or really even that close for that matter, but it was in fact security theater at its finest. I witnessed the security process all day, from the guards quickly glancing into purses, to the next level just kind of swinging a metal detecting wand in your general direction, and then the third level was where they checked your tickets. I was by the field seat only entrance, and there was a constant steam of people getting through the first two layers of security only to find out that they were in the bowl somewhere and would have to go start the entire process over again in a separate line.
But seriously, if you think that this was bad, just wait until football season kicks off and all the new NFL security regulations kick in. It is going to be a complete cluster fck for the first few weeks while both patrons and security guards try and figure out the new rules.
And one more point on the security guards at Gillette ... they only have maybe 5 concerts and 10-12 football games a year, so they do have full time event staff. Most of the time the event security is not trained, has never worked before, might only work a handful of events in their life, and a lot are college kids and the like who are part of a sports team, fraternity, club or whatever that will volunteer their time essentially and the organization will get a donation of sorts. Literally there are a few supervisors, police and the rest of the people in colorful shirts are there to take your tickets and make you feel like you're actually safe.
Youre forgetting the entire
Youre forgetting the entire revolution season and many special events - international soccer, lacrosse, high school stuff etc
Let's be serious, Revolution
Let's be serious, Revolution games are a joke. Last time I was at one there were about 5,000 people, so its not like the need anywhere close to the number of security personnel that they do for a concert or Patriots game. UMass and highschool football games don't have a huge attendance either, and special events hardly need any security at all. The lacrosse finals have been here twice and you'll get an international soccer game that anyone really cares enough to go to once every 3 years or so, but none of that was the point.
The point was, that for major events that require more than 100 security guards, you're getting a lot of untrained and apathetic people who are there to look good more than anything.
I've heard the
I've heard the traffic/parking management at Gillette and the approaching roads is so bad that many people miss the first half of the event they're going to. And that every event feels like the staff has never done it before.
You heard wrong
I've never missed any part of the first half due to traffic. Of course, you can't leave your house at 12:30 (assuming a 20min drive) and think you're going to waltz into the place. There are 60k people trying to get to/from the same event.
Patriot game lines are a 30 minute wait...
Anytime you try to go in from 30 minutes before the game to about 15 minutes after kickoff. I've tried every gate, and at different times, and usually get the same result. The best gate to go in is the one on the visitors side by the lighthouse endzone. The worst is the gate right under the lighthouse, and the gate opposite the lighthouse on the visitors side endzone is a close second.
As far as driving, I've never been to a game less than two hours before kickoff, but there is a secret back road that the police used to block off that is not blocked anymore. (It is secret so I can't tell you about it)
And yea, the security theater is there, and will continue to be there until a terrorist decides to kill as many people as possible instead of choosing a high priority target will less casualties. Blowing up people at a choke point like a check-in line would do more damage than if it were to blow up inside the stadium.
real deal
Something the whiners and complainers left out was the truth, first the only time there will be five or six lines open is when gates go to one half after all patrons are in, second gates open two hours before the events and every patron every event feel entitled to cut the line as they are the most important people there, i repeat gates open two hours before the event, enjoy the stadium day atmosphere and go in when gates open or shortly after, another thing feel grateful security staff are there with police making the event as pleasant as possible