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Most Fans OK With Pat-Downs, Longer Lines At RayJay

Tribune Photo by JOSEPH BROWN

The pat-downs added ten mintues or more to the time it took most fans to get inside Raymond James Stadium.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2008

Most Buccaneers fans seemed OK with the pat-downs they had to consent to today before being allowed inside Raymond James Stadium, even though the security check added to their wait.

The above-the-waist pat-downs took about five seconds per person, but the added precaution made for long lines – especially close to game time. Most fans didn't come any earlier today because of the pat-downs but said they understood the security checks were needed to ensure fan safety.

Today was the first since 2005 that stadium-goers were subject to the pat-downs. For three years, Raymond James was the only stadium in the National Football League without them because of a lawsuit filed by high school government teacher Gordon Johnston.

Ultimately, though, the Tampa Sports Authority, which runs the stadium, prevailed in the courts.

The added security didn't sit well with Steve Swenson, of Land O' Lakes, who said he's been coming to Bucs games for years. Normally, it takes him about five minutes to get inside the stadium. Today it took 15 or 20 minutes.

"It's unnecessary," Swenson said of the pat-downs. "We haven't had a problem in the past."

The National Football League started requiring the pat-downs for all NFL games in August 2005. Johnston sued to stop them after the second game of the 2005 season.

A circuit judge in Tampa issued an injunction stopping the searches in November 2005. Two weeks ago, the U.S. District Court here lifted the injunction.

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