Getting the balance of London Stadium security checks is difficult but it is something that the Stadium operator needs to get an urgent grip on. Yesterday I was delayed getting to the stadium because of various train strikes and engineering meaning I didn’t get to the security checks on the bridges until 2.45pm.
I choose bridge 5 as it seemed quieter than the other bridges and close to my turnstile but the queues were still long. Conscious that the last two home games have seen smoke bombs let off in the stadium security had understandably been ramped up and there were more sniffer and search dogs in use.
Bizarrely I was searched three times on bridge 5 by three different people while my 15-year-old daughter walked past the same security checkpoint wearing a large coat on and carrying a large bag with no search whatsoever as she was waved through. Surely they should have searched her bag as the very minimum.
There was also a new hard line on ticket checks in my block 113 in the West stand. However like most things it is either nothing at all or to the extreme and yesterday I was asked to show my season ticket four times on the way to my seat and four times when I returned to the block after halftime. This kind of over the top security just creates resentment. The answer is simple, do it once but do it properly in the first place. We need consistency!
