KU officials mum on any changes they’re making after feds issue terror alert for sports stadiums

No particular venues named; KU mum on security changes

Kansas University police officials aren’t saying whether there will be any noticeable change in security during Saturday’s football game at Memorial Stadium, after a national security warning was issued Monday regarding potential terrorist attacks at stadiums.

“We are aware of the bulletin that went out,” said Capt. Schuyler Bailey, KU Public Safety Office spokesman. “Any changes, if we made any, would not be discussed.”

The warning does not specifically name KU, or any other venue in the nation, as a terror target. And Bailey said Jayhawk fans should not be fearful about attending Saturday’s sellout football game against Southern Mississippi. “Not at all,” he said.

The university already takes steps to keep fans safe at sporting events.

During home football games, campus police officers patrol areas around the stadium by car, on foot and on Segways.

One of six bomb squads from communities surrounding Lawrence is also placed on standby outside the stadium, in the event a suspicious device is found.

In two bulletins sent on Monday to police, federal counter-terrorism officials urged law enforcement and private companies to be vigilant at stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels.

The bulletin on stadiums noted that an al-Qaida training manual specifically lists “blasting and destroying the places of amusement, immorality and sin … and attacking vital economic centers.” Counter-terrorism officials are also advising police officers to be on the lookout for any possible bomb-making at self-storage facilities, noting that terrorists have used such places to build bombs.