San Francisco Chronicle July 03, 2007
Security beefed up for All-Stars
Metal detectors, McCovey Cove measures in works
By Demian Bulwa
Take me out to the airport?
Those attending All-Star Game festivities at AT&T Park starting Sunday should allow extra time to walk through metal detectors, Giants officials said Monday as they announced a raft of security measures intended to keep spectators and players safe.
Though metal detectors have been used only twice at AT&T Park -- during a visit by former President Bill Clinton and at a private event -- they have become commonplace at big ballgames, including the past two All-Star Games.
Giants officials said they expect only minor delays, in part because the park's four gates will open three hours before Monday's Home Run Derby at 5 p.m. and Tuesday's 78th All-Star Game at 5 p.m. between National and American leaguers.
"We hope there won't be major delays," spokeswoman Shana Daum said. "It will be a little different, though. It's something our fans don't go through on a regular basis."
Another big change: no in-and-out privileges.
"Bring in whatever you need," said Jorge Costa, the team's senior vice president for ballpark operations.
Costa said the Giants have been working with numerous local, state and federal agencies for a year on security for the festivities.
Officials did not make any last-minute changes due to the recent attempted terrorist attacks in Britain, but they underscored the need for prevention at high-profile events, Costa said.
"With the world the way it is," he said, "I think you need to prepare accordingly. You can't let it paralyze you, but it would be naive not to have an awareness."
Some thrifty lovers of the national pastime, meanwhile, may be pleased to hear that baseball officials are not making major changes along the waterfront promenade beyond the wall in right field, where fans can watch for free through open archways.
Extra security officers will be posted there, the Giants said, and observers must move along after no more than three innings of Tuesday's game to give others a view. But the archways will remain open.
"That's been part of the atmosphere here for eight years," Daum said.
As for famed McCovey Cove, where splashy home runs over the promenade often end up in nets carried by kayakers, San Francisco police and the U.S. Coast Guard will enforce a security zone from Saturday to next Tuesday.
All public watercraft there must be human-powered, 20 feet or less in length, and launched from one of two spots -- at the Third Street Bridge or from the southeastern side of the cove. Everyone must have a lifejacket, a sound-producing device like a whistle or air horn, and a light if they plan to stay past sunset.
Searches are mandatory. The vessels must also register (sfgiants.com/mccoveycove) on a first-come, first-serve basis.
At the park's entry gates, bags must be no bigger than 16-by-16-by-8 inches. Alcohol is prohibited along with glass bottles, cans, laser pointers, noisemakers, hard coolers and weapons of any kind.
Outside the park, some streets will be closed to traffic.
The security will go well beyond the ballpark. There will be a command post manned by a variety of agencies, but Costa declined to say where it will be located.
San Francisco police are beefing up patrols around the ballpark and Moscone West Convention Center, where the All-Star FanFest will be held Friday through Tuesday. The Police Department estimates it will spend up to $500,000 to cover overtime and other costs.
The Coast Guard, concerned about potential acts of terrorism, will increase its presence on ferries on San Francisco Bay.
The FBI's San Francisco office is bringing in more than 150 extra agents from around the country, including bomb and hazardous materials experts, negotiators and SWAT teams from Los Angeles and Sacramento, FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler said. In case of a terrorist attack, the FBI would take the lead.
"We're treating it as a possible high-profile target," Schadler said. "You can't get more American than baseball, apple pie and mom, right?"
John Pike, director of the security information Web site Globalsecurity.org in Alexandria, Va., said such heightened security has become so common in recent years that sports fans and others have come to expect it rather than to feel inconvenienced.
"People that encounter these security measures," he said, "have recalibrated their expectations of how they're going to be treated."
© Copyright 2007, Hearst Communications Inc.
