Manchester United scheduled to play in Europa League final on Wednesday in Sweden
In light of Monday night’s terror attack that killed 22 people and injured dozens more at Manchester Arena — known for its memorable sporting events — sports leagues are reacting accordingly when it comes to security and safety procedures at stadiums.
The NBA, which has the Finals starting June 1, acknowledged being on higher alert as a result of the stadium suicide bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals is tonight at 8: 30 p.m. ET at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
“We are in communication with the appropriate authorities and taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our fans, teams and staff, ” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
The NHL, which has the Stanley Cup Finals starting May 29, likewise is acting with extra precaution and awareness on top of its security procedures.
“We already have a very thorough and detailed security plan in place at all of our arenas to ensure the safety of our fans, ” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “Obviously, with yesterday’s events, arenas have been reminded to re-double their efforts and to maximize their vigilance. Our message and request to anyone attending our games would be to report to appropriate law enforcement, security or arena personnel anything that they observe that is the least bit suspicious or out of the ordinary”.
The NFL, in its offseason and without any major stadium events on the horizon, will guide its 2017 stadium protocol planning with Monday’s tragedy in mind.
“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the first responders, ” the league said in a statement. “We have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place at our stadiums and in parking lots. We will continue to improve and modify as necessary our plans in conjunction with local, state and federal law enforcement officials.”
UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, said it had already made thorough safety arrangements, with detailed checks being made at stadium entrances — resulting in potential delays entering the stadiums.
Ahead of Manchester United’s Europa League final against Ajax on Wednesday in Stockholm, the UEFA said in a statement that it had been “closely working with local authorities and the Swedish FA for many months and the terrorist attack risk had been taken into account since the very beginning of the project. Furthermore, a number of additional security measures were implemented following the attacks in Stockholm last April.”
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