New security measures for OSU football season opener

Stillwater prepares for Saturday game

If you are heading to Stillwater tomorrow for OSU's football game, you can expect to see a lot of traffic for the home opener and a strong police presence.

You will also see some new security measures.

One of the changes will be the use of sky watch towers.

"And if you have ever been here on a game day then you know there are a lot of people in a small amount of space.  So what that allows us to do is to get an advantage point from above the crowd where we can see a large number of people from 20 feet up in the air," says Robinson.

Mike Robinson, Director of Public Safety and Police Chief for OSU tells KRMG the elevated towers will give officers a view unobstructed by people or vehicles.

He tells us the second change will be the use of hydraulic barriers instead of wooden barriers used in years past.

“We will actually be using those to control traffic on Hall of Fame. They are just a lot safer for the public because these barriers will actually- physically stop a large vehicle," says Robinson.

He tells us a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security made it possible to buy three hydraulic barriers.

There will also be increased security in the number of officers because OSU’s police department brings in other officers from Stillwater and other surrounding communities plus additional law enforcement agencies like the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, FBI, and OSBI to help.

Law enforcement also set up a command center to monitor the facilities with over 100 cameras in and around the stadium.