Concert-goers at the PNC Arena in Raleigh may notice new security measures starting this week: the arena will begin using canine units to detect potential bomb threats. PNC Arena President Don Waddell said he decided to go ahead with plans to use the dogs following Monday's bombing at a concert in Manchester, England. He said people attending events can help prevent dangerous situations from occurring.
“We really encourage people, if they see something, say something,” he said. “If it's just the littlest thing that you see that you're not comfortable with, we want to hear about it. Because we want to take any suspicion or any fear from our customers out of their mind so they come and enjoy whatever event that's happening here.”
The dogs were already part of the arena's plans to upgrade security measures when the suspected terrorist attack in England happened.
Waddell said the arena will have 800 people as a staff working these kind of events. He said other security measures are always in place both inside and outside the arena.
“There's no reason to wait any longer, we're prepared to move forward, so we're going to start immediately,” he said.
Waddell recommends concert-goers alert security guards or venue staff any time they see suspicious activity.
“Fortunately we live in a world that there's very few bad people, but those few bad people make it that we need to stay on top of things,” he said. “We want to provide a safe and friendly environment for all our customers.”
