Twice a year, Carrier Dome and local law enforcement officials undergo training to prepare for the unexpected.

The training exercises, which are called tabletop exercises, create different scenarios and provide officials the chance to get experience dealing with terrorist threats and other intense security situations.

That type of training is also what makes the NCAA comfortable with Syracuse University hosting a regional.

“We trust the people at the Carrier Dome,” said NCAA Director of Media Coordination and Statistics David Worlock.

SU will host the NCAA Tournament East Regional on Friday and Sunday, right in the thick of March Madness — one of the country’s most watched events. With such a large event comes extensive training and security preparation, and also the possibility of a threat.

The average SU men’s basketball attendance from 2010-2014 was 23,355. SU most recently hosted the East Regional in 2010, when the average attendance of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight sessions was 22,384.

The Carrier Dome staff is used to dealing with the large crowds it will see this weekend, Worlock said. The experience, both in security preparation and in the fact that SU has hosted the East Regional before, is a strong benefit to having SU host the event, Worlock said.

The NCAA does regulate a few things, Worlock said.

The organization asks venues to limit deliveries on the day of a game, something most buildings do anyway, he said. The NCAA has guidelines about no large signage, banners or artificial noisemakers that Carrier Dome officials are in charge of keeping out of the venue. He added that the NCAA tries to keep signs that are allowed in “clean of corporate mark.”

Department of Public Safety Events Commander Vern Thompson said one of the challenges officials face is the fact that attendees of the East Regional come from all over the country. He added that security is increased and that while the Syracuse Police Department is involved in nearly every Carrier Dome event, state and federal agencies will be involved this weekend.

One of the most extensive areas of security for the East Regional is counterterrorism, as the NCAA has had previous run-ins with terrorist threats.

In 2006, a bomb-sniffing dog discovered a suspicious package two hours before tipoff of a first round game in San Diego. The FBI had said the week before that there was a recent Internet post that discussed terrorist attacks aimed at college basketball arenas and other sports stadiums.

That’s what makes current events and current threat levels important to security officials. For example, the NCAA did more adjusting to security following 9/11 than it did following the 2006 threat, Worlock said.

Regardless of the size of the city, when a large event like the East Regional comes to town, threat levels increase. A smaller city like Syracuse is just as susceptible, if not more, said Stacey Hall, the associate director for the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security.

“Anything can happen at any time and I think terrorism is a threat anywhere where there’s a mass gathering of people,” she said.

“The chances of terrorism are low, extremely low, but the consequences are catastrophic and extremely high so you have to consider it,” Hall said. “You have to be vigilant and make sure that venues are safe before a single member of the public steps in.”

The NCAA feels SU is ready to fulfill the call of duty.

Said Worlock: “We rely on (host sites) to have a plan in place and a place like Syracuse that has a large attendance for each game, we are comfortable with that.”

Published on March 26, 2015 at 9:53 pm

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306