CANAL WINCHESTER, Ohio — Canal Winchester Local Schools announced Wednesday evening that several new safety measures will be put in place for their upcoming football game this Friday against New Albany.
Upon arrival to Mike Locke Stadium, everyone must pass through a weapon detector to enter. The school will have two detectors at the gate being operated by a security team.
“We should be able to have our community and our students go to football games without having to fear for their safety,” said Superintendent Kiya Hunt.
All high school students attending must be with an adult or show a Canal Winchester or New Albany student ID to enter. Additionally, adults between 18 and 25 may be asked to show a photo ID to enter.
There will be a no bag policy in the stadium.
Throughout the game, Canal Winchester fans must remain on the home side and New Albany fans must remain on the away side.
At the end of the game, New Albany fans will exit through the away gates and Canal Winchester fans will exit through the home gates. Loitering is not allowed and everyone must leave the stadium at the end of the game.
“We have to as a school district do whatever we can to ensure safety of our students. The incident last weekend shouldn’t have happened. We are going to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Hunt.
To read Canal Winchester's full list of safety measures for the game, click here.
These advanced safety measures come just days after a fight broke out the Canal Winchester and Groveport Madison football game last Friday that ended with four teens arrested and three guns seized.
Since last Friday's incident, Groveport Madison has also issued their own set of safety guidelines for their upcoming football game that can be found here.