Milt Ahlerich – ESPN Interview

September 20, 2001

On what the league told clubs about security at this weekend’s games:

A week in advance of this weekend’s games, the Commissioner asked me to send out some strong advice to the clubs as to how games should be conducted, particularly in regards to security.   The first thing that we said was immediately tightening up the stadiums.  Don’t wait until next week to do it or next Saturday.  Do it at the beginning of the week and incrementally tighten them up.  Make arrangements to get the staffing level you need in terms of public safety, equipment and event services personnel.  Get those staffing levels where you need them to be early on.  Don’t wait until the middle of the week as you might normally do.  Particularly in regards to fans and their screening as they come in, we asked the clubs to advise fans of and put in place a ban on large packages that they would bring in --backpacks, large purses, large cases, coolers, this sort of thing.  We asked them to tell them not to bring those things in this weekend.  The clubs are saying that that will be the case this weekend.  We told them to advise fans to take a little extra time, bring some patience to the games this weekend.  It might take a little longer to get in, not a lot longer, but a few more minutes.  Get in your seats early.  It’s important to be in your seats early.  Don’t miss that opening kickoff.  That’s what it’s all about -- it’s football and that’s what we want people to focus on.  They can do that if they get there early. Some other things we advised the clubs about were searching the stadium and getting it very clean and in good shape before people arrive at the stadium.

Q:  How different is it going to be this weekend?

I don’t think it will be very different from a fan’s perspective.  It’s a lot different from the security professionals’ perspective.  We’ve got a lot of plans in place to deal with the “What if?” situations should there be an emergency, to be able to react to one, to be able to assess any emergencies that might occur so that we can get to the facts as quickly as possible.  But I don’t think the fans are going to experience anything differently except that they can’t bring in quite as many things, and they need to come in and take a little more time to get through the gates.

On using metal detectors at the games:

We think the ban on bags and large packages being brought into the stadiums makes it unnecessary to have metal detectors, and this will give us the safety that we need. 

Q:  There’s not going to be anything in the sky, no military flying around or anything like that, but there will be tighter parking regulations.  When you were talking about this last week, how did these ideas come about?  What was the basis?

A lot of it was driven by our professional judgments as to how to make the stadium and our fans safe.  This isn’t the first time we’ve thought of this type of thing.  If we have to deploy actions such as keeping large vehicles away from the stadium, checking vehicles that get close to the stadium or in the stadium structure, that’s something that’s been planned out well in advance and we know the reasons.  It’s a professional judgment by security professionals that this is the right thing to do to keep the structure and our fans safe.

Q:  You mentioned earlier that they were going to monitor the stadiums a little more closely during the games.  Describe what you mean by that.

It’s restrictions in terms of vehicular and individual traffic.  There might not be tours in the stadium this week.  They shouldn’t be allowing deliveries to be made without an announcement.  If you’re going to make a delivery, it needs to be planned for.  We’ve asked the stadiums to do that and most stadiums are doing that, and that’s encouraging.

Q:  Have all teams been equally cooperative or have some been more wary than others?

I’ve been in contact with almost every one of them on a personal basis to talk with our security professionals that are out there and we do have different circumstances.  Domes are a little different than open-aired stadiums.  New stadiums are quite a bit different than older stadiums.  Some are privately owned by owners and owners’ families, and some are publicly owned.  Those are the types of considerations we have to tailor to a particular situation.

Q:  What are the differences between security measures at a domed stadium versus an open-aired stadium?

The flight restrictions are the same.  Obviously the fans inside aren’t going to be noticing any aircraft.  The entrances are different. The configurations of the entrances getting into the seats are different.  That’s something you have to look at.  Not huge differences, but they’re differences that have to be put into place from a particular security standpoint.

Q:  What types of stadiums are generally more secure, older or newer?

Places that have good command posts, good facilities, where you can get a command post.  A stadium that was built with a command post in mind, a stadium that wouldn’t have to have it added on afterwards.  It can be harder for people to do that, but they’re very responsive at the older stadiums to make it work as far as I’ve seen.

Q:  Are the teams going to have extra security checks on their personnel for the stadium concessions, etc.?

I think we’re talking about credentialing, and credentialing is done for football games for employees and those who are given access to secure areas of the stadium.  We’re asking that all stadiums require positive identification.  Who is it that has this particular credential?  Who is it, by name?  And we’d like to get dates of birth, addresses and a photo ID for anyone who gets a credential.

Q:  Who is actually going to get that information?  Are they going to give that information back to the league office?

That’s maintained only for record purposes at the team level. 

Q:  On a normal game day, what would be some of the checkpoints for a normal credentialed employee to have to walk through?  Are there going to be any extra ones this weekend?

There might be a certain vendor that says it needs six credentials for the company and they would write the name of the company on the six credentials.  Here, not only do we have the name of the company, we want the name of the employee, just for record purposes.  No checking, no looking into their backgrounds, just for record purposes.

Q:  And that has never been done prior to this weekend?

Not in the six years that I’ve done this.

Q:  Nothing has ever happened at a football game, but does that increase your fear that something might happen?  What’s the thought among the league personnel?

I think this is a different time in our country and we have a special responsibility given that our country’s been attacked from abroad and on our own soil.  We have a special responsibility to tighten security for our fans and for our employees and employers and that’s being taken quite seriously.  This is different from anything that’s happened before.  It’s a different situation for us just like others.

Q:  Do you think football is even on the map for the terrorists?  Do people even talk about this?

There is no indication that we are being targeted in any way.

Q:  How fearful is the league of an incident occurring?

We’re prepared.  We’re focused.  We’re not fearful.

Q:  Getting back to differences in stadiums . . .  Will anything be different in primetime games, in a Sunday night or Monday night game, or in one of the cities where, say, the attacks actually happened versus San Diego or Kansas City?

I don’t think you’ll notice any great differences there.  That is up to the local stadium managers.  They might want to add larger staffing numbers for a night event.  We always have more for Monday night and Sunday night games than we do for afternoon games.  So those types of differences you might see.

Q:  Would the league ever consider using a profiling system for people entering the stadium?

That’s a law enforcement consideration as to whether or not we’d have something like that.  It’s not a consideration for private security or corporate security at the league.

Q:  How will things like tailgating be changed or altered?  Will people still be able to have a good time?

I think so.  I don’t see that there will be much impact there, because that happens away from the stadium.  Other than the fact that you might not get that last hot dog or that last beverage.  You might need to forego that and go ahead and get into the stadium.

Q:  Last year at the Super Bowl, every person that entered the stadium had an image taken of them.  Any thought of using that system at all of the games?  Why or why not?

Again, that was a law enforcement activity.  We were advised of it.  We were aware of it.  We certainly had knowledge of it.  But we’re not using anything like that this weekend that I know of. 

Q:  So the Super Bowl system was a Tampa decision, not an NFL decision?

That’s correct.  But with our knowledge.

Q:  Will blimps be allowed at games?

We don’t think so.  We’re being told they will be grounded for the weekend.

Q:  You mentioned that one of the things the league focused on was the “What if?” scenarios.  What are these “What if?”  scenarios, if you can tell me in certain terms?

We won’t be able to go into all of our planning and all our hard questions that we ask ourselves in great detail.  But one thing we thought a little about was maybe a rumor starting in a stadium, and we know how that can happen when people are anxious, and how to deal with that.  I was just working on that before I came to this interview -- how we can prepare our public address announcers and what would be appropriate to put up on signboards so that fans can look up and see that this is the situation and there is not a problem.  And still keep their eyes on the football game.

Q:  Do you dream up the scenarios and also think up the solutions to how you would handle the situation if it came up?

I don’t think we “dream” about it, but we certainly go through tabletop exercises where we determine how we’d react to a particular serious situation. There has to be disaster plans and emergency plans for all stadiums, and they all have them in place so that they can use them in any emergency that might occur in the stadium.

Q:  What has the league told the players as opposed to the teams?

Players are human beings, just like the rest of the people.  They can be nervous and have concerns, so we’ve made a special effort to get information to teams.  I know numerous teams have had briefings just on security just to tell them what they can expect, what their travel is about, and how it’s going to work.  Here are some special measures.  Here’s how you can help.  And players can help.  In terms of special forms of ID for them, what types of things they should carry when they travel, how safe their planes will be, we give them assurance and they want that, and the teams are doing that.

Q:  Have any of the players or the players union expressed any fears about security?

Not to me.  While I think there may certainly be individuals -- considering there are 1,700 people, there is certainly going to be someone that has some concerns -- that needs to be addressed by the team people and we are giving them the support to be able to help them and give those players and all employees that kind of information.

Q:  Are the players being allowed to talk about security and what they’re being told?

I’m not stopping them in any way.  I think some have.  It’s best, I think, spoken about by security professionals who know about it, team management. But if they want to speak, they have that ability.

Q:  What other past historical events, if you will, have people looked at to learn from?  Did you talk to anyone involved in the Atlanta bombing to see how situations like that were handled so that you guys could build on it?

We’ve had two conference calls among the seven of us on this task force and we’ve been given some specific areas.  We were just talking this morning about what happens in soccer overseas and looking at some of the really challenging circumstances that they involve themselves in.  We want to look at some technology and examine that to see how it might be handled.  One of the people on the task force is the manager of the Georgia Dome.  So we’ve got a lot of good experiences coming to us from there.  One man is in charge of the stadium out in San Francisco, which went through an earthquake.  So we have a wealth of experience on the task force to draw on and tell us what emergencies can come up, how they’re handled, and how we can handle them better.

Q:  We’re so focused on making sure the fans are going to be safe.  What can the fans do to make sure the security is safer?

Be aware that you need to get into the stadium earlier.  Cooperate with us.  Bringing in large packages is really going to slow the process down.  If they can just not do that, that will help a great deal.  Don’t spread false rumors.  That is something that does sometimes happen when people are nervous.  React to facts and not something they think might be the case.  If you have a concern, ask the security personnel, ask the police that are going to be there.   They’re there to help.

Q:  Will the number of security staff actually be increased?

Yes.  In every stadium.  We’re not going to get into actual numbers, but I would say substantially and that will be apparent.  Some of the things we’re doing will be visible, and some won’t be so visible.  The number of uniformed police personnel, public safety personnel will be very apparent.

Q:  Can you give an approximate percentage?

It varies from stadium to stadium.  You don’t want to get into it, because geography is different.  The configuration at one stadium that has more entrances will need more policemen.  So you can’t put a strict number on it.  You have to delegate that out and hold those people responsible out there for doing it.  I feel very comfortable with the numbers I’ve seen.

Q:  So it’s actually more bodies.  It’s not like, for instance, you have 100 cops that are not going to be wearing uniforms.

I didn’t say that.  I said some would be visible and some would not be visible.

Q:  What do you want to tell the fans that are going to the games this weekend? 

We’ve asked the stadiums, and we know they will, to put restrictions on the items that fans can carry into the stadiums.  No coolers, no large backpacks, no large packages should be brought into the stadium at all and they will be screened.  They will be asked not to bring them into the stadium.  Come early.  Get into your seat early. If you have a problem, ask policemen and security personnel there for the answer to the question, rather than just reacting to a rumor.