Security stepped up at Sam Boyd Stadium

Steve Addy

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2001 | 9:09 a.m.

Sam Boyd Stadium is taking no chances with fans' security in the aftermath of terrorist attacks upon the nation.

Fans attending the UNLV-BYU football game at 4 p.m. Saturday will be screened with metal detection wands, large bags will be prohibited and there will be a heightened police presence in and around the stadium.

Those measures and others will also be in place Thursday for the matchbox twenty concert at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"We've used pretty much this same (security plan) with rock shows in the past, and now we're applying it to our sports events, as well as incorporating other procedures," said Daren Libonati, director of Sam Boyd Stadium, Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion.

"We will use this policy for all of our venues and events indefinitely."

There will be some precautions that fans won't see, particularly before the gates open, Libonati said. A crowd in excess of 30,000 is expected.

"We have a good plan to secure the venues and make sure everyone who is there is supposed to be there," he said. "Security will be tighter, but I know our fans will appreciate it.

"We also encourage fans to look after each other. If someone sees something that doesn't look right, we ask them to communicate it to security personnel."

The new security measures are: