COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL
JEREMY BEALE
Washington Nationals set to begin MLB-mandated fan screening with metal detectors
Washington Nationals fans will have to take a few extra steps — literally — before they can head to the stands at Nationals Park to watch the team’s exhibition game April 4 against the New York Yankees, or their season opener two days later against the New York Mets.
The Nats are one of 29 teams adding freestanding, gate-shaped, walk-through metal detectors at select entrances around the ballpark, as mandated by Major League Baseball last year in consultation with theDepartment of Homeland Security as part of ongoing efforts to boost security at games.
Come April 4, Nats Park will place metal detectors, built by Twinsburg, Ohio-based CEIA USA Ltd., at all gates around the ballpark, except for the first and third base gates. Where there aren’t metal detectors, security guards with wands will screen fans into the park. Team officials aren't sure if fans will encounter delays in getting to their seats but encouraged ticket holders to arrive at games a little earlier than usual, at least at first.
Armed off-duty D.C. police will be patrolling the park for additional security precautions.
“We started this project immediately after the Winter Classic,” the annual outdoor hockey exhibition game that played out at Nats Park Jan. 1 between the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks, according to Frank Gambino, vice president of ballpark operations. “We don’t have all of the final costs in some of these areas.”
When asked how much the project cost, Gambino would only say a “substantial amount.”
According to a CEIA listing on its website, the standard price for the metal detector model that Nats Park installed — the Standard PMD2 Plus — is approximately $6,600. That model is highly tuned to catching items even in big crowds thanks to advanced detection technology, according to the company."
Gambino said security personnel at the park are trained and "adequately adept” at screening ticketholders from the bleachers to the luxury boxes. Except for the metal detection screening, all other attendee safety protocols remain the same.
“We obviously encourage everybody to come early to the games,” Gambino said. “Our gates open two and a half hours prior to first pitch, so if fans could get in between the window of an hour or [two and a half hours], so before first pitch they should be set.”
Nationals Park is installing metal detectors to screen fans at most entrance gates around the ballpark in time for the Washington Nationals' exhibition and season opener games.