Leon County Schools to increase security measures at every varsity football game

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Officials at Leon County Schools have announced new increased security measures for all varsity football games effective Friday, September 15th until the end of the 2023 season.

“You should feel safe - whether as a spectator, a student playing on the field, or a parent dropping your child off at a stadium,” said Leon County Schools spokesperson Chris Petley. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure we continue to keep all of those attending our events as safe as possible.”

The new security measures will require fans to walk through metal detection devices or have a metal detection wand passed over their person in order to get into any of the venues in Leon County. Fans who plan to attend a game at Gene Cox Stadium will see both walk-through and wand devices used. All other venues will use wand devices only. LCS Spokesperson Chris Petley told WCTV’s Alison Posey that more walk-through metal detectors are being purchased for all other venues.

This increase in security is in response to not only recent events at Gene Cox Stadium where air soft guns were found on August 18th and September 8th, and a fight on August 25th, but also incidents happening at high school football games across the country. “We just didn’t want to wait any longer,” said Petley.

Leon High has a football game at Gene Cox on Thursday, and Petley said the new changes will be in effect for that event. The safety procedures apply to all high school football games at any LCS facility.

The district also said that fans are not allowed to bring backpacks into any stadium. Spectators are allowed to bring diaper bags and purses into a game, but they will be searched at the gate.

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