The shadow of Sept. 11 hovers over the entire American landscape, and it most definitely looms above venues where crowds gather to watch sports events.
Security measures have become a top priority for facility owners and operators.
As proof, consider that the International Association of Assembly Managers has announced formation of a safety and security task force charged with studying and improving industry methods of dealing with those issues.
"We're in a new era with new challenges relative to safety, security, terrorism and crisis management," said Lionel Dubay, president of IAAM and manager of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center at the University of Florida.
Frank Poe, past president of IAAM and CEO of the Birmingham-Jefferson (Ala.) Convention Complex, will be chairman of the task force. Larry Perkins, assistant general manager of the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, will be vice chairman.
"Everyone has a right to feel safe and secure when they attend a public event," Poe said. "It's our job as the managers of arenas, stadiums, convention centers and theaters to ensure they can enjoy the event without having to worry about safety and security every time they turn around."
One thing the task force certainly will do is study security-related issues at venues in other parts of the world — where public gatherings historically have been more difficult to manage.
Cliff Wallace, chairman of the World Council of Venue Management, has been named a member of the IAAM group.
"Our hope is to identify potential programming material, training aids and a long-term program for information exchange and networking ... with our members throughout the world," Poe said. "The ideas and concepts used in other countries can often be adapted to become strong procedures in other locations."
Each of North America's major sports leagues is represented on the IAAM task force, underscoring just how important security issues have become.
HOOPS HEAVEN: Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium has a rich basketball history that dates back to the second men's Final Four in 1940.
That event has been held at Municipal nine times, more than any other venue.
The NAIA's 64-team national championships were contested in the smoky barn for decades, and even the NBA came calling in the 1970s.
How appropriate, then, that the National Association of Basketball Coaches — whose headquarters are a few miles away in Overland Park, Kan. — has decided to turn Municipal Auditorium into a shrine.
A $24 million renovation project has gotten started that will involve changing 75,000 square feet of the facility. The city is putting up $5 million, and the NABC is raising $19 million for tenant improvements and exhibit enhancements.
The result: The NABC Center, a combination basketball museum, hall of honor, interactive fan experience and retail outlets, scheduled to open in late 2002.
The center, designed by Edwin Schlossberg Inc., won't just be a dusty reminder of the past. The auditorium is intended to remain an exciting hoops venue, hosting — among other things — a 16-team Division I tournament each November.
Listen to Roy Williams, University of Kansas coach: "With activities and exhibits that challenge basketball fans of all ages, and a remarkably designed tribute to the coaches who've helped shape the game, the NABC can once again fill this auditorium with the excitement and energy of those games once played here."
The grand old building deserves no less.
ETCHED IN STONE: The Cincinnati Reds have launched a drive to sell commemorative bricks that will be placed near the main entrance of Great American Ball Park by the time it opens in 2003.
"It's exciting because this is the first time our fans have had a chance to get involved with the new stadium," said Amy Schneider of the Reds' marketing department. "We're hoping to sell several thousand, but we don't have an exact number yet because ... we haven't got final design plans."
The bricks are priced at $150 for the larger size (8-by-8 inches) and $75 for 4-by-8. Replicas also are available for $75 and $50, respectively.
The least surprising fact concerning this latest brick sales drive is that the whole thing is being handled by Fund Raisers Inc. of Boise, Idaho.
In fact, anyone buying an engraved brick at almost any new sports facility in the United States probably is phoning that company, run by Karen Lockner. That 800 number Reds fans are calling actually buzzes in Boise.
Lockner's firm has handled bricks and replicas for Coors Field, Pacific Bell Park, Bank One Ballpark, Invesco Field at Mile High, First Union Center in Philadelphia and another half-dozen venues.
"I hate to sound like we have the whole thing," Lockner said, "but there really isn't much competition."
Lockner, who started the company in 1986 when she discovered a renovation project in downtown Boise was littered with substandard bricks, promptly threw her advertising background and some serious moxie into the marketplace.
It's been a great ride, and Lockner professes just one regret. She'd like to borrow Amy Schneider's nickname: "The Brick Chick."
If you have news, updates or anecdotes about any sports venue, contact Steve Cameron: scameron@amcity.com.
