ST. LOUIS (AP) - Busch Stadium has installed walk-through metal detectors at every entry gate in order to comply with Major League Baseball's new rule that all spectators be scanned before entering any of its 30 stadiums.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the baseball league issued the new security order after conferring with the Department of Homeland Security about standardizing security practices across the game. Security at sporting events gained a more intense focus after bombs were detonated at the Boston Marathon in 2013.
Busch Stadium's new metal detectors have been met with mixed reactions by fans. Some like 45-year-old Rob Gottlob say it is a disappointing, but necessary security measure.
"It's sad that it has come to this, but with (terrorist) groups like ISIS out there, you have to think about safety," Gottlob said.
Karri Thomason, who was outside the stadium Thursday, felt conflicted about the new measures.
"It's another intrusion in the name of security, and I wonder if it would really stop someone intent on wreaking havoc," she said. "But I do recognize the team's need to try to protect fans."
For years, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals had used hand-held wands to scan a random sample of people entering the stadium.
"On the one hand, everybody will now have to go through a security screening," the team's vice president of operations, Joe Abernathy, said Thursday. "But walking through a detector will be faster than getting scanned with a wand."