LSU ordered 20,000 plastic bags and, with the help of parking lot attendants, will be handing them out prior to this weekend’s home-opener in Tiger Stadium. The plan is to give security personnel a better view of what fans are bringing into the arena.
LSU’s Athletic Department will deploy Boy Scouts and giant Ziplocs throughout campus to continue spreading the word about the
University’s newly-instituted clear bag policy, which prohibits, with a few exceptions, any bag that conceals its contents.
“We’ve looked around campus, we know how our traffic flows and where our hotspots are,” said LSU Event Management Coordinator Julie Cribbs. “We want to get it to the point where if you have a parking permit, they’ve taken your permit and reminded you about the clear bags.”
LSU, in contract with Landmark-Event Staffing, has implemented “Geaux Clear” at all sporting events beginning this fall, as have most Southeastern Conference schools. It is similar to what has been in place for several years at NFL venues.
“LSU’s clear bag policy will be in effect for all athletic venues and is aimed at speeding up gate entries and enhance fan experience,” LSU’s promotional poster for “Geaux Clear” reads.
The only approved carry-in items for LSU home games include the transparent 12-by-6-by-12 LSU tote bag, a plastic zip-top bag, a small clutch purse, a seat cushion without zippers or pockets, a diaper bag no larger than the tote bag and/or a binoculars case.
“The important thing for us, especially in this first game, is to educate, educate, educate,” Cribbs said.
Is a clear beach bag allowed? Or a purse inside of the clear bag?
No, LSU says.
“There’s so many boutiques and stores out there that are making their own bags, which is great,” said David Taylor, the assistant athletics director and game event manager. “But then you’re getting into the tinted, printed, textured, laced — there’s so many different anomalies out there that a lady could go and spend a lot of money on a clear bag, but it doesn’t meet our standards.”
Most SEC schools have adopted the policy for this season, and the rest are expected to join the procedure before next football season.
Within the last decade, LSUPD and other SEC police departments have held joint conferences with their respective athletic departments to devise a plan for transparent bags that is consistent with other universities adopting the same policy.
“Every year, the SEC schools —police specifically — we share [information],” LSUPD spokesman Kevin Scott said the policy will provide a more efficient screening technique at entrance gates.
Taylor and Cribbs insisted the clear bags were not aimed at eliminating alcohol being smuggled into the stadium.
Currently, alcohol is only served in the club seating and suite levels of Tiger Stadium and Alex Box Stadium. No alcohol is served in the PMAC. The SEC confirmed this week that there is no change to the conference’s alcohol policy.
This clear bag policy may help to deter alcohol from entering the general stadium, Taylor said.
The transparent bag makes unwanted items, such as weapons, more visible.
“From our side, we’re very much the customer service element,” Taylor said. “It does help speed up the lines. Overall, the primary function is security based. With everything going on in the country, from a law enforcement, it’s to eliminate all of the other bags out there.”
To speed up the first-game lags which may occur Saturday, and to better explain the policy, a new crew of bag checkers from the Superdome — where the New Orleans Saints have a similar clear bag policy — will be at entry gates before LSU’s kickoff against Jacksonville State.
“Customer service-wise, they’ll be able to explain it better,” Cribbs said.
LSUPD is not expecting to have a heightened security force to go along with the clear bags on Saturday, Scott said.
LSU’s Athletic Department will be handing out roughly 5,000 clear bags, along with the 20,000 Ziplocs, on Saturday — bags left over from “Fan Day,” which was canceled because the flooding in southern Louisiana during surrounding days.
The policy actually was initiated on a smaller scale at soccer matches several weeks ago.
“[Clear bags are] for all of our venues,” Cribbs said. “It’s been implemented at soccer, they’ve had a couple of matches. Volleyball will start this weekend, so it’ll be an education. Hopefully, when we get to basketball, it’ll be well-known and with baseball it will just be common.”

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Greta Jines

Geaux Clear