New bag policy at BMO?

[MKR]

Last night was my first live game of the year and getting into the stadium was MESSED up!

Yesterday i arrived at the gate nearest the ticket box office at 7:50 (game to start at 8:00). I proceed to wait 7-10 mins to get checked by security. The security guard checks me with the scanner and passes me through. I have my back pack open to show the contents (a sweater for warmth, toronto FC scarf, bike lights - no bottles or food type things). The ticket scanner then tells me that i am not allowed in because i have a back pack. When i question as to why, she does not give me any reason but then tells me i have to go to gate 4. I then explain that i have been waiting in a very long line and that security passed me through. She then calls another security guard over who just repeats the same instruction to go to gate 4. I proceed to show this security guard the few contents of my bag and then she suggests that i wait while she checks with another staff member.

At this point in time the anthems are playing and the security guard tells me i have to wait until after the anthems are finished. I am not sure why as all the other patrons in line are being checked by security and admitted into the stadium. It should be noted that while i am waiting numerous people at the gate i am standing in are being admitted with bags (including backpacks!) and purses. When i point this out to the security guard who is having me wait, she gets quite aggressive with me. As i point out a fan who is allowed entry into the stadium with a purse that is larger than my bag, her tone becomes rude and threatening. I should add that at this point I ask her name and she tells me it is "Penelope". Finally another security guard arrives and just tells me to go to gate 4 without any explanation.

Whole thing took about 30 minutes to get into the stadium. I've been to MANY MANY games and never has anything like this happened. Just at the end of last season i took my daughter to a game and with a backpack we were allowed inside as per usual.

WTF BMO?!

[magmadragon]

Gate 4 for bags has been the process since last season. Admittedly they are inconsistent about it. Officially it's a no bag policy but the Gate 4 thing is the compromise.

[MKR]

Admittedly they are inconsistent about it.

Fuck, are they ever!

[Ponderosa]

The no-backpack rule isn't new (I recall in the first year they sent SSH a very tiny string bag in our package- not sure if that was a joke, reminder, or coincidence)- and it has been mentioned in our SSH packages in letters and notices each year since. The bag policy is also on the new Toronto FC app. In this day and age of stadium bombings and terrorist threats- and the issues experienced with unauthorized smoke and pyro at the stadiums - I think this is the new normal and will become stricter and more consistent.

This really sucks for mid week games and commuters.

[Red CB Toronto]

The no-backpack rule isn't new (I recall in the first year they sent SSH a very tiny string bag in our package- not sure if that was a joke, reminder, or coincidence)- and it has been mentioned in our SSH packages in letters and notices each year since. The bag policy is also on the new Toronto FC app. In this day and age of stadium bombings and terrorist threats- and the issues experienced with unauthorized smoke and pyro at the stadiums - I think this is the new normal and will become stricter and more consistent.

This really sucks for mid week games and commuters.

You can bring in any bag you want if you got to Gate 4 and they look at it/check it out. I usually have a smaller bag over my shoulder and have never had a problem.

[nfitz]

Yeah, nothing new here. One game late last season, I had a backpack that was almost nothing in it. They started to make a fuss at gate 1, so I put on the sweater, and the folded the backpack into about the size of a golf-ball, and stuffed it in my jeans pocket. Security STILL insisted that I couldn't enter ... fortunately their supervisor came along then ...

They need to add more gates and security though, if they are going to be so anal ... after last nights wanding, I'd taken the tiny ear buds out of my pocket, and my jeans were still beeping ... and they wouldn't let me in until I'd offered them to stick their hands in my clearly empty pockets and take my jeans off ... meanwhile there was a 10-minute line behind me, and the anthems had already been sung ...

[Blindside16]

The other issue is the security company they are using at the gates. Star security I believe their name is. I find the majority of their employees are incompetant and ignorant. A couple of games ago I was being wanded and it went off on my pocket. I had a half pack of lifesavers that I completely forgot about. The guy told me I couldn't bring it in so I said "Here take it" and held them out to him. He backed away like I was handing him dynamite and had a look like he was trying to decifer the dead sea scrolls. I told him 4 times to take them and he would only stand their staring. My wife finally got fed up, grab them and went to throww them in the garbage. He then grabbed her by the arm and tried to turn aggressive, which if you know my wife did not end well for him.

They need to invest in a proper security detail rather than people who couldn't care less whether they are there or not.

[Auzzy]

Wow the amount of inconsistency is actually surprising, compared with what I happened to experience so far.

[stegosaurus]

Wow the amount of inconsistency is actually surprising, compared with what I happened to experience so far.

Security has only ever bugged me a few times but they are very inconsistent on what they allow and who they allow to do it. You see them yelling at parents for bringing a bag of carrots for their kid but somehow never manage to catch people sneaking in booze and stuff.

Only time I’ve had issues they were really abrasive and idiotic, so I can see the difficulties people may have.

Rules have changed and stuff too, which they could at least explain nicely to people instead of being gruff like they did with the people complaining.

The giveaways are ridiculous too, to the point where I don’t bother and just ask a friend who works for MLSE to grab me some for the kids. Someone’s going to get hurt trying to get something eventually. It’s like a feeding frenzy.

[eustacchio]

Security has only ever bugged me a few times but they are very inconsistent on what they allow and who they allow to do it. You see them yelling at parents for bringing a bag of carrots for their kid but somehow never manage to catch people sneaking in booze and stuff.

Only time I’ve had issues they were really abrasive and idiotic, so I can see the difficulties people may have.

Rules have changed and stuff too, which they could at least explain nicely to people instead of being gruff like they did with the people complaining.

The giveaways are ridiculous too, to the point where I don’t bother and just ask a friend who works for MLSE to grab me some for the kids. Someone’s going to get hurt trying to get something eventually. It’s like a feeding frenzy.

I think that has a lot to do with individual members of security's confidence - it's easier to yell at a family about a snack then it is to confront a group of buzzed dudes in their 20s.

[stegosaurus]

I think that has a lot to do with individual members of security's confidence - it's easier to yell at a family about a snack then it is to confront a group of buzzed dudes in their 20s.

Yeah, for sure. Security is just a bunch of boneheads and the rank and file don’t even seem to have been appropriately trained to understand their jobs, let alone root out the more aggressive/militant ones.

I’ve heard the supervisors complaining about not having enough people to cover the gates or that too many people called in sick, etc. as well, so the whole thing just seems to be poorly managed and operated.

[C.Ronaldo]

The no-backpack rule isn't new (I recall in the first year they sent SSH a very tiny string bag in our package- not sure if that was a joke, reminder, or coincidence)- and it has been mentioned in our SSH packages in letters and notices each year since. The bag policy is also on the new Toronto FC app. In this day and age of stadium bombings and terrorist threats- and the issues experienced with unauthorized smoke and pyro at the stadiums - I think this is the new normal and will become stricter and more consistent.

This really sucks for mid week games and commuters.

I doubt the people that security hires are going to deter any serious attacks.
Most of them are not properly trained or just plain dim

[Heepster]

...A couple of games ago I was being wanded and it went off on my pocket. I had a half pack of lifesavers that I completely forgot about. The guy told me I couldn't bring it in so I said "Here take it" and held them out to him. He backed away like I was handing him dynamite and had a look like he was trying to decipher the dead sea scrolls...I've learned enough in recent years to have as little as possible in my pockets when going to any event. I actually appreciate it now that they tell people not to bring in bags, as before it seemed to be a regular occurrence that I would arrive at my seat to find it occupied by shopping bags and purses, and then have some woman give me an angry look and "tch" as though I was the one being a jerk for wanting to sit in the seat I paid for, instead of letting her use it for storage.

Weirdest security encounter I've had in the last couple of years was my only recent trip across the road to "Budweiser Stage" as it's now called. No wands in sight, and they're just telling everyone "completely empty all your pockets". I hold up my phone in one hand, keys, wallet and a tissue in the other. Without saying a word, security person gingerly nabs the tissue away from me in one of her latex-gloved hands, and drops it into a trash can. When did that become a prohibited item?