Security Changes Underway In Pittsburgh After Attack At U.K. Concert
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As a result of the deadly attack outside the Ariana Grande concert in England, there will be some security changes when the Penguins play Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.
Pittsburgh's public safety director was part of a conference call with the FBI and Homeland Security Tuesday.
While there's no credible threat against any venue in the United States, that doesn't mean there won't be a reaction to this.
"We did meet with the security of PPG Paints Arena," said Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich. "We are going to increase the surveillances that we do. You will see some more officers."
He says our sports venues already have metal detectors and security in place. But what happened in Manchester, happened outside the concert venue, beyond the internal security.
"Our main concern is the crowd outside the arenas," said Hissrich. "We feel that we have a very good system in place for inside the arenas."
That's why most changes will be outside, and you may not notice them.
"There will be officers that will be in plainclothes," said Hissrich. "There will observers from high vantage points watching the crowds."
He says it's not just bombs they're guarding against, but also vehicles going through the crowds.
At last year's Light Up Night, the city used large dump trucks filled with sand as barricades to protect crowds.
And even as Pittsburgh intends to be prepared, security experts agree that the chance of an attack is very rare.
"You have to weigh the cost, you have to weigh enjoy-ability of the event. How you are going to impact that versus the security measure you're going to put in place?" said Dennis Lejek, from Black Knight Security.
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