‘As safe as sitting in the White House’: How the Secret Service protects the president on stadium visits

Then-President George W. Bush throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game Three of the 2001 World Series, weeks removed from the 9/11 attack.Rich Pilling via Getty Images

The moment when President George W. Bush strode to the mound at Yankee Stadium on the night of October 30, 2001, just weeks after the devastating attacks of 9/11, stands as perhaps the most American moment of the 21st century. His pitch to open Game 3 of the World Series in New York City, live before a crowd of more than 40,000 people, was both a demonstration of American resolve … and a potential security nightmare. 

Jeff James was one of the many Secret Service agents assigned to the president’s detail that night. When he looks back on that night — which went off without a hitch — he does so with pride. 

"We’re supposed to remain very detached from what’s going on around us and very focused on our mission," says James, a former Secret Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge and now the president of Capitol Security Consultants. "Not that I was cheering and clapping my hands or anything, but it was a moment that bordered on the surreal. It was hard not to get caught up in it, both because of the American patriotism of the moment, and the work the Secret Service put in to make it go off safely."

Ever since at least 1892, when President Benjamin Harrison attended a Reds-Senators game at long-gone Boundary Field in Washington, D.C., presidents have visited stadiums to mingle with sports fans. And ever since 1901, in the wake of the assassination of William McKinley, the Secret Service has protected the president every time he decides to take in a ballgame. 

When President Donald Trump waves to the crowd from a suite at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Alabama this weekend (weather permitting), he’ll be standing at the center of a massive security operation, one that extends 360 degrees around him, miles in all directions, including above. Visits like these may be planned in days, but the Secret Service trains, anticipates and prepares for them for years in advance. 

"Sports are at the forefront of American culture, and President Trump loves them as the People’s President," White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Yahoo Sports in a statement. "Many Americans across the country are proud to cheer on their team alongside the President of the United States — and the President looks forward to attending a big game in Tuscaloosa this weekend."

Saturday’s Georgia-Alabama game will mark the 10th college football game Trump has attended while president. He’s also appeared at the Super Bowl, the World Cup final, the NBA Finals, the Daytona 500, golf’s Ryder Cup and tennis’ U.S. Open, among other events. In advance of the president’s visit to the Georgia-Alabama game, Yahoo Sports spoke to numerous current and former Secret Service officials to get a sense of what’s necessary to protect the president at a fluid and uncertain environment like a stadium. It’s a fascinating, complex endeavor, and one that Secret Service officials believe is worth the cost in time, effort and money, regardless of who’s in office. 

"The Secret Service does not protect Republicans or Democrats. They don’t protect Trump or Obama. They protect the Office of the Presidency," says Bill Gage, a former Secret Service agent and now director of executive protection for Safehaven Security Group. "If it were up to the Secret Service, the president would go into a bunker 20 floors below the ground, he would come out once a year in this ballistic bubble, he would wave to the public for 30 seconds, and they would whisk him back down below." 

Since that’s not an option, the Secret Service adjusts. Here’s how they do it. 

Bullet-proof glass was erected around President Donald Trump during his visit to last year’s Ryder Cup.Michael Reaves/PGA of America via Getty Images

Making it as safe as The White House

The Secret Service lives by the saying "Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics." A presidential visit to any location, which begins with the White House notifying the Secret Service of the president’s intentions, is an exercise in logistics, planning how to implement security protocols rather than focusing only on what those protocols might be. 

"We approach every venue the same from our methodology, whether it’s a 100,000-seat stadium, or whether it’s a congressional dinner where there’s 500 people and they’re all senators and congressmen," James says. "The scope of space and manpower is what really changes." 

On Saturday at kickoff, you see a stadium full of Alabama and Georgia fans watching one of the most anticipated games of the season. The Secret Service sees a three-dimensional threat matrix, with danger possible from all sides. It’s why an event like this weekend is, in theory, all execution, no theorizing about potential threats — because that’s already been done.

"The Secret Service never has the luxury of taking any (threat) off its plate," says Robert McDonald, assistant professor of practice in the Criminology and Criminal Justice department at the University of New Haven, and a retired supervisory Secret Service agent. "If we look back to the olden days, the (attempted Reagan assassin) John Hinckley era, you were worried about the lone gunman. You’re still worried about the lone gunman, but now we have gases, and liquids, and (threats to) different types of critical infrastructure." 

Every presidential visit requires both coordination and infrastructure, starting with a connection between the Secret Service and local law enforcement. At an event like the Alabama game, for instance, the Secret Service will coordinate with a range of agencies: the Alabama Highway Patrol and other state law enforcement officials, as well as local Tuscaloosa and university police. They’ll also coordinate the visit with the teams, school or league actually running the sport. (Multiple leagues and teams who have received President Trump either declined to comment or did not respond to Yahoo Sports inquiries.) 

The Secret Service looks to loop in stadium officials, who can give a sense of the logistics involved in getting the president from his vehicle into the facility — pointing out, say, where the team buses come, or where the president’s motorcade might not fit. 

Most stadiums now have underground entries for VIPs, but in the cases where that’s not possible, other measures are used — at last fall’s Ryder Cup, for example, the president got out of the limo underneath a heavy tent set up outside the clubhouse at Bethpage State Park’s clubhouse. At this summer’s World Cup, meanwhile, the president helicoptered to MetLife Stadium — then known as New York New Jersey Stadium — avoiding the need to shut down miles of roads into and out of the stadium. 

"The Secret Service endeavors, wherever the president goes," James says, "to truly make it as safe as if he were sitting in the White House." 

In case of potential emergencies, the Secret Service will coordinate with the local hospital, and ensure that the Marine One helicopter is ready for a possible extraction. They’ll bring in the president’s limo, the spare, trailing security vehicles, an electronic jamming vehicle, and staff vehicles. They’ll have at the ready a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) for secure conversation, should that be necessary. Although the exact number and specifics are classified, Secret Service officials estimate that around 100 agents are involved in any presidential visit to a public location. 

In the hours before the president’s arrival, the Secret Service begins a total sweep of the facility. "The Secret Service

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.