Planes carrying banners will not be allowed to fly above Spartan Stadium. Transportation Security Administration officials said Wednesday the ban is indefinite.
Big Ten athletic directors called for the action before last week’s games. Other security measures at Saturday’s game will remain the same as previous weeks.
“It’s a precaution based on the code orange alert,” Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Heather Rosenker said of the ban. “It’s the prudent thing to do.”
A no-fly zone was created over all U.S. stadiums and open-air venues after federal officials put the nation on an orange alert Tuesday. Orange alert is the second highest warning on the Department of Homeland Security’s five-level color-coded scale.
MSU athletics director Ron Mason said the current ban is a good idea, but he has been cooperating with other Big Ten athletics directors to make a permanent no-fly zone over stadiums.
“It’s something we were trying to get accordingly and hopefully we did some good,” Mason said. “From a safety standard, that is a good idea. I think it’s a step in the right direction.”
But Mason said Spartan Stadium’s about 72,000 fans don’t have much refuge if a plane were on a collision course with the venue.
“You’re in a captive audience,” he said. “It’s not like you can move around - it’s a dangerous position.”
Spectators will also not have to worry about stricter rules at Saturday’s football game, MSU police Capt. Ken Hall said.
Hall also said unless there is a significant terrorist threat on U.S. soil, security will not alter its rules or plan at football games.
“We don’t see any reason to be any more stringent than we already are,” Hall said. “We don’t want to intrude on patrons.”
Hall said he is supportive of an air ban because several years ago multiple banners fell off the planes. None of the banners hit any spectators, but he said it could have been problematic if they had.
Ionia-based Benz Aviation is one of the businesses that make and fly advertisements over Spartan Stadium.
Manager and co-founder Tony Smit is not worried about the current ban. He said it will probably be lifted within the next two weeks, once the orange alert is removed.
But he can see problems if the permanent ban Mason desires is adopted, especially after last year’s ban following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“We rely on aerial designs in the fall months,” Smit said. “Last year we got hit for the entire banner season, and if it’s for two years in a row, it hurts.”
MSU spokesman Terry Denbow had not heard of the ban, but welcomed it.
“It’s something we’ve worked for,” Denbow said. “This is something that’s about safety and precautions. Even after 9-11, it’s still important, and the fans will agree, too.”
But some fans, such as no-preference freshman Jaimi Stapf, disagree with Denbow.
“I wasn’t (nervous) at all,” Stapf said. “Some will probably be hesitant, but most won’t mind small planes carrying banners flying over Spartan Stadium.”
Other students, such as telecommunications junior Scott Preston, would be open to a temporary ban.
“It sounds like a good idea to me,” Preston said. “Someone could hijack a plane and crash it into the stadium.”
But Preston said a permanent ban could be detrimental to businesses who use that space to advertise, and it would be unnecessary if the terrorism threat starts to disappear.
Kristofer Karol can be reached at karolkri@msu.edu.
