As the date of the fight approaches, the anticipation of rampant violence (particularly in the event of a Mayweather loss) is becoming palpable and is looming large in news coverage of the fight itself. KLAS-TV reports that Las Vegas Metro has prisoner buses standing by, ready to scoop up those who disturb the peace. The Las Vegas Review-Journal disclosed that Metro was jobbing in extra cops from Pasadena and Phoenix, in addition from supplementing numbers locally from North Las Vegas, Henderson, and the Fire Department.
After all, although ‘only’ 16,000 people can witness the fight in person, as many as 200,000 visitors are expected to descend upon Sin City for the ultra-hyped event – well short of New Year’s Eve numbers and roughly on par with Electric Daisy Carnival. Security is such a concern that Nevada Athletic Commission Chairman Francisco Aguilar has met with law-enforcement officials five times in the 10 weeks leading up to the bout.
"We’ve worked very closely with MGM to make sure we’re in the right place at the right time. Instead of trying to catch up to an issue, we want to try and get ahead of it and prevent that from happening again," said a Las Vegas Metro spokeswoman. Memories remain strong of the 2007 All-Star Game weekend, which saw four shootings and 400 arrests. ‘MayPac’ is even bigger, if that can be imagined. "We really haven’t had to deal with a sporting event to this scale. It’s important to see how other agencies handle things like that," Metro’s Lt. Roxanne McDaris told the R-J. (A book could be written on the extra-mural violence that accompanied MGM Grand’s 1990s series of Mike Tyson fights … like Cathy Scott’s seminal best-seller The Killing of Tupac Shakur.) As Deputy Las Vegas Police Chief Gary Schofield told reporters, "We’ve had times when it doesn't quite go according to plan. We've learned."
McCarran International Airport will upscale security staffing by 10 percent on the Sunday after the fight (including extra K-9 units) and MGM Grand is promising a high-visibility presence. Metro Public Information Officer Larry Hadfield forecasts a police commitment above and beyond normal patrols and events-planning cops. The police are also working with the staff of nightclubs ("I can’t mention any particular ones") where "we’re going to be beefing up everything" to accommodate the expected throngs. As Nevada Athletic Commission Executive Director Bob Bennett pointed out to the Las Vegas Sun, "The access to alcohol and partying around town could create some turmoil." (Ya think?)
Hadfield doesn’t expect much trouble in the arena itself. MGM’s own Mary Haynes has issued a set of security protocols for the weekend, one of the most important being summarized as "you will be directed to exit at the exit which is nearest your seat and there will be absolutely no loitering whatsoever in the public spaces throughout the evening." In addition to backpacks and large purses, objects forbidden in the MGM Grand Garden Arena include "Professional-grade cameras, cameras with detachable/telephoto lenses, audio recording devices, video recording devices, iPads/tablets, Go-Pros, selfie sticks.
"Las Vegas and MGM Resorts know how to do big events – think New Year’s Eve. Our professional security team works closely with Las Vegas police and other public safety agencies to help ensure that these events are safe and enjoyable," Haynes assures patrons. She might want to have a chat with Metro, which is passing along a nascent urban legend that access to MGM hotels will be restricted to people staying there. "We have been saying that if you want to want to watch the fight, the MGM Grand is not the place unless you have a ticket. If there is overcrowding, it’s possible we might consider limiting occupancy to hotel guests and those tickets," Haynes says. If so, this would be well-rehearsed measure akin to the Strip-hotel "lockdown" that occurs each Dec. 31 for the traditional "America's Party" NYE festivities and fireworks.
Schofield said to the Sun, "We're not preparing for a fight night. We’re preparing for a fight week." He proceeded to describe the security structure as a set of concentric circles, starting with Metro and MGM officers within the hotel, radiating outward to the suburbs, highways, and airport, where federal resources – including the FBI – will be mobilized. Henderson Police Department Public Information Officer Michelle French said the suburban department would be "sending a couple of supervisors [to the fight area], as well as a couple of squads. We’ll also be upstaffing here in Henderson, like we would do on Super Bowl Sunday. We want to make sure that we’re prepared for anything that might come about."
Vegas Metro’s Officer Hadfield says that North Las Vegas’ police department is also part of the security perimeter and "we’re always in communication with our federal partners as well." Three hundred firefighters will also be on standby.
Healthcare professionals are on alert. "We’re advising staff in our our emergency departments to be prepared for a surge, and it might not be just Saturday night," Dan Lake, director of security for three area hospitals, told the R-J, which characterized the MayPac atmosphere as "similar to the level of [medical] service they might expect on New Year’s Eve or Super Bowl Sunday, when celebrants’ levels of consciousness can be affected by a combination of excitement, alcohol and other mind-altering substances."
MGM is keeping two ambulances at the ready, but those are for injured boxers (is there any other kind?), although paramedics will be sprinkled through the property for the benefit of the general public. Still, despite the apocalyptic level of preparation, a Metro officer counsels relaxation. "It’s a good time for the local economy," he says of MayPac. "Be positive."
