New Security Policy Greets Panthers Fans at Preseason Game

From http://www.charlotte.news14.com by Leslie Mayes, August 9, 2013

The Carolina Panthers are kicking off the preseason Friday, and new security measures put in place across the country by the NFL will greet fans as they enter the gates.

The team plays its first preseason home game of the year at Bank of America Stadium as they take on the Chicago bears.

Fans coming into the stadium will face a series of new security measures that may leave them feeling more like going through airport security than into a Panthers game.

The NFL approved the new security standards in May and is now implementing the measures they say are designed to increase safety at the stadiums and speed up fan entry.

According to the new regulations the following items are allowed:

• Clear tote bags no bigger than 12 in. by 6 in. by 12 in.
• A one gallon clear, plastic storage bag
• A small clutch no larger than 4.5 in. by 6.5 in., or about the size of your hand is allowed, large purses are no longer allowed.

For parents bringing children to the game, the league said diaper bags are permitted as well as other supplies for kids. However, those bags as well as anything brought in out of medical necessity, will be inspected by security before being allowed inside.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the new measures were created in response to recent events like the bombings at the Boston Marathon and are about making everyone who comes to the game feel safe.

“You’d like to think that you can go to an entertainment event and feel safe and secure. That is what these measures are being put in place to do. I think in the long run people will begin to understand and being to accept it a little bit more,” said Maj, Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The Panthers first preseason game against the Bears kicks off at 8 p.m.