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"You don't want to get the spectators involved," he said. "Protocol is to do the search. Do it quickly, efficiently."
If the search had turned up a real bomb, an entirely different scenario would have unfolded, he said.
The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety is beginning to keep records of unclassified incidents at all stadiums worldwide. But no one knows how often stadiums receive bomb threats, Marciani said.
"Professional sports and many of the major colleges have evacuation plans," he said. "They do tabletop exercises and refine them all the time. There are pregame processes, in-game processes. If the protocol calls for the movement of people, it would have been done very efficiently in Detroit."
If a bomb is found "the decision to evacuate is made for you," Layne said. "Then you have to think about if there is staff available to assist moving crowds away from the device, if you have a safe assembly area."
It's not uncommon for sports stadiums -- college and professional -- to receive bomb threats, but few are evacuated, and the threats are rarely publicized for fear of inspiring copycats.
"You are not going to see it discussed unless it's a significant issue," Layne said.
A few thousand people were ushered out of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., during a 2004 band competition after a bomb threat. A search of the stadium found nothing.
The announcement was made over the public address system.
Two years ago, some stands behind home plate and in front of the press box were cleared at the New York Mets' Citi Field after a suspicious bag was found under an empty seat during a rain delay.
No public announcement was made.
On Wednesday, authorities in Detroit were trying to determine if the Comerica Park threat was linked to the earlier threats at the bridge and tunnel. No one has been arrested.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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