Breslin Center Entrance Protocols Announced

March 20, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

To provide for the convenience and safety of spectators attending the Michigan High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Finals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Student Event Center in East Lansing, March 22-24, attendees are being advised of a variety of items related to tickets and security – including new policies regulating types of bags allowed into the arena.

Class C and D Semifinals will be played March 22, followed by Class A and B Semifinals on March 23 and all four championship games March 24. In a scheduling change from past seasons, the first Semifinals on March 22 and 23 will begin at noon, followed by the next games at 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Breslin Center doors will open one hour before the start of each session – 11 a.m. before the Class C and A games and 4:30 p.m. prior to the starts in Class D and B – and the arena will be cleared after the conclusion of the 2 p.m. Semifinals each day.

For the Finals on March 24, doors will open at 9 a.m. for the Class D championship game beginning at 10 a.m. The arena will be cleared at the conclusion of the 12:15 p.m. Class A championship game, and doors will open again at 3:30 p.m., an hour prior to the start of the Class C Final. The Class B Final is the day’s last game and scheduled for tip-off at 6:45 p.m.   

Tickets are priced at $10 per session, both for reserved seats in the lower bowl and general admission seats in the upper deck. Tickets include admission to two games per session – both games for each Class during the Semifinals, and then either the Class D/A or Class C/B Finals on March 24. The option to buy tickets online will remain open through the start of each session; tickets purchased online may be printed off or picked up at the Breslin Center will call.

Security measures also will be in place to help assure spectator safety. Upon arrival in the building, fans will be subject to metal detector screening, and Breslin Center personnel reserve the right to request patrons open their coats and any item-carrying vessels for visual inspection and deny entrance to individuals who do not cooperate.

Items which fans will be prohibited from bringing into the building include, but are not limited to, the following:

•  Purses or bags of any size
•  Weapons
•  Containers of any kind – including aerosol and spray cans
•  Umbrellas, flags, flagpoles
•  Alcoholic beverages
•  Food of any kind
•  Coolers, thermoses
•  Cups, bottles, cans, flasks
•  Bottled water
•  Camcorders, tripods, selfie-sticks, large cameras, cases
•  Chair backs
• Projectiles and other potentially dangerous objects
•  All tobacco products

The following items will be permitted after inspection:

•  Binoculars (but no cases)
•  Pagers and cell phones (but not selfie-sticks)
•  Small cameras and radios (but no cases)
•  Strollers – These must be checked with Guest Services or platform attendant after entry.

Prohibited items discovered during security inspections at arena entrances must be returned to the owner's vehicle or discarded. Items will not be held for later pickup.

Fans are reminded that all image taking (still and video) may be only for personal, non-commercial use.

Statement on Spectators, Winter Contact Sports

January 22, 2021

Second Half

The following statements are attributable to Mark Uyl, executive director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, in response to today’s announcements by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) on the topics of spectators and Winter contact sports. 

Governor Whitmer and MDHHS announced that sports arenas with capacities of at least 10,000 spectators may allow up to 500 to attend events. However, no additional tickets will be sold for today and Saturday’s 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field. 

“We have been planning these Finals for weeks to include immediate family, and unfortunately this isn’t a process we can adjust midstream,” Uyl said. “Distributing more tickets would put stress on those plans and Ford Field staffing, and force schools to make more hard decisions on who will be able to attend, but at the last second instead of with prior planning.”

Governor Whitmer and MDHHS also announced that Winter contact sports – including MHSAA activities in girls and boys basketball, competitive cheer, ice hockey and wrestling – must remain non-contact through Feb. 21. The previous emergency order was set to expire at the end of January and would’ve allowed those sports to begin contact activities Feb. 1. 

“We found out about this decision at 9:30 a.m. like everyone else, and we will address it as quickly as possible after taking the weekend to collect more information,” Uyl said. “We did not anticipate this delay in winter contact practices and competition, and today’s announcement has created many new questions.

“Obviously, this is disappointing to thousands of athletes who have been training with their teams over the last week and watching teams in other states around Michigan play for the last two months.”