Football stadiums present plenty of potential hazards for paying customers. The biggest one comes from the possibility of falling from one level of the stadium to another.
That happened last night in Seattle, in the venue where the Seahawks play. Via the Seattle Times, a 13-year-old boy attending a Taylor Swift concert at CenturyLink Field was injured after falling from the 300 level to the 200 level. Paramedics described the boy as “stable, alert, and conscious"; he was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment and evaluation.
A PFT reader who witnessed the incident says that staff at CenturyLink claimed that the boy fell only 10 feet but that it was “at least 25 feet.” The reader added that the potential for fans falling has been a concern at the venue, given concerns that the railings are too low, especially in the suites.
As the NFL suspends for a year (i.e., scraps) the blackout rule, persuading fans to buy tickets instead of watching the game at home. Apart from the reality that ensuring the complete safety of all customers is the right thing to do, the removal of the blackout rule as a tool for pumping up ticket sales in certain markets makes it more important than ever to ensure that fans are confident that a trip to the game won’t end in a trip to the hospital.