Batavia City Schools issued a letter this morning to parents regarding respectful etiquette and the use of security measures for football games -- including wand checks, a new security service and an age limit for attending without an adult -- at Van Detta Stadium.
The Board of Education had approved hiring Armor Security earlier this year.
The fee is $29 an hour per guard at about five hours each, Superintendent Jason Smith said. That’s about $580 per game, or $2,900 for five games.
You can attribute at least some of the need for this to the Batavia Blue Devils’ track record, Smith said at the time of the board's vote in May.
“That’s for special events, home football games. We’re drawing 1,000 people or more at those games,” he said to The Batavian. “With a successful team, you draw more people.”
Another change is a $2 admission fee for all varsity football games. Students and seniors 62 and older will get in for free.
The letter addressed to district families is below:
As the 2022-23 school year is upon us, we are excited to announce that our state-of-the-art facility at VanDetta Stadium will once again be hosting Varsity Football games.
We continue to make safety our number one priority for students, staff, and community members attending events at VanDetta Stadium. We’re anticipating large crowds throughout the season, and we want to make you aware of some enhanced safety protocols, guidelines, and expectations when attending:
● All attendees will be wand-checked by our security team to ensure no prohibited items are brought into the facility.
● VanDetta Stadium is located in a neighborhood, so please be courteous and do not block driveways, throw trash on the ground, or use foul language. Please be a good neighbor.
● All students ages 12 and under should be accompanied by an adult.
● We will be charging adults a $2 admission fee for all Varsity Football games. Students and seniors ages 62 and over will have free admission.We’re also enhancing our security presence around the stadium during events. We’ve hired Armor Security to help support our administrators, athletic event workers, and the Batavia Police Department to make sure safety remains a priority at our events.
We cannot wait to welcome you back to VanDetta Stadium for another exciting season of Blue Devil events and cheer on our wonderful student-athletes. Let’s all do our part to keep our school grounds, students, faculty, staff, and community safe.
Thank you,
Jason Smith, Superintendent & Mike Bromley, Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics
Go here for prior coverage about the security company.
