The Final Four: Security Preparation & The Schedule

The Final Four played here 28 years ago barely resembled next month’s spectacle that includes a free concert by Bruce Springsteen and a 350,000-square-foot fan festival.

Although the updated March Madness is new to the Dallas area, many elements should be familiar. It was just three years ago that local officials braced for an event that was as much a national holiday as a game.

The 2011 Super Bowl and NCAA basketball’s 2014 championship are similar enough to provide organizers valuable lessons for next month’s Final Four. The games will be played April 5 and 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the site of Super Bowl XLV.

Arlington police Lt. Scott Brown said Super Bowl preparations were extensive, but it’s difficult to compete with experience.

“We jumped right in from one full calendar year of the stadium to the biggest event ever,” he said of the Super Bowl. “Until you actually have it in your backyard, until you actually run the show and host it, it’s kind of hard to imagine what goes into it.”

While the sports are different and temperatures milder this time around, many logistics remain the same. Both feature games played in Arlington, VIPs and official events mostly in Dallas — all under intense national scrutiny.

From mass coordination among public safety agencies to understanding the best way to get fans inside AT&T Stadium, North Texas officials remember what worked and what didn’t in 2011.

Morgan Lyons, spokesman for Dallas Area Rapid Transit, said Super Bowl XLV provided valuable lessons about social media and other communication tools. The region — including DART — was paralyzed at times by the ice that rolled into town early Super Bowl week.

Lyons said DART tried to update riders via Twitter, but Facebook users were frustrated that they weren’t getting the same information immediately.

“What we learned is that people have preferred communication channels,” he said. “There’s not a lot of overlap.”

DART has since created software allowing staff to simultaneously send the same alerts to the agency’s Twitter followers, to riders who subscribe to its email and text message services, and to its Facebook page.

Organizers have their fingers crossed for reasonable weather this time. But DART’s messaging system should come in handy when the agency will inevitably have to notify riders that the Springsteen concert site is full.

Operations centers

Rocky Vaz, Dallas’ director of emergency management, said one of the Super Bowl’s significant lessons was the value of videoconferencing among the emergency operations centers. These centers bring together local and federal law enforcement and have to monitor activities throughout the region.

Vaz said that technology was used in 2011, but there were glitches. Bandwidth has been added, and the system is stronger for the Final Four.

“We can always be in touch,” Vaz said about linking the centers. “We can all see what’s going on in Arlington, and they can see what’s going on at our Bracket Town” in downtown Dallas.

When personnel can see everyone else in all the command posts, Vaz said, it creates a large joint operation out of scattered sites.

The value of immediate communication also led them to adopt new software that taps into a statewide network. Other local cities will be able to monitor some Final Four activities in real time.

If trouble happens in Dallas or elsewhere, police and fire departments in the suburbs would know to start mobilizing help, Vaz said.

‘Smart decisions’

Marc Klein, associate principal and event manager with Populous, which coordinates Final Four logistics, said the firm often taps into its Super Bowl experience when working on the tournament. Now that Final Fours are booked into football stadiums instead of basketball arenas, there is frequent crossover among venues.

“It allows us to make smart decisions so you don’t do something that looks good on a plan but doesn’t really work when you’re on the ground,” Klein said about the firsthand experience.

Populous was already aware of the spread-out nature of North Texas. But after helping manage Super Bowl XLV, Klein said, they have a real world understanding of how long it takes to travel the 18 miles from downtown Dallas to AT&T Stadium in Arlington and the logistics of navigating around the stadium.

“We know what those time frames are by running the Super Bowl there,” he said. “We’re speaking from experience.”

Populous officials also stopped by the stadium for a college football game and an NFL game to observe car and pedestrian traffic patterns and add to their knowledge base.

Stadium entry

The Super Bowl XLV experience persuaded Populous to lobby organizers to allow ticket holders to enter at any gate. At nearly all AT&T Stadium events, fans must enter in a specific area since private clubs prevent most ticket holders from walking completely around the main concourse.

He said temporary walls constructed in the clubs will allow the NCAA to stage private events there, while allowing other fans to pass through.

That can both make stadium entry easier and give fans a chance to tour the stadium before the games.

The firm also figured out that signs were needed to direct fans back to their parking lots, not to the stadium.

In New Orleans, where the 2013 Super Bowl was held, tall buildings can obscure the location of Mercedes-Benz Superdome and throw off pedestrians. Populous focused on signage around the city pointing fans to the stadium.

In Arlington, there’s no danger of anyone on foot losing sight of the towering AT&T Stadium. Leaving is a different story.

“Once you walk out of the building at night — after you came in in daylight hours — you’re going to ask: ‘Where is parking lot J?’” Klein said. “How do you find it? It’s all flat.”

AT A GLANCE: Final Four events

APRIL 4

11 a.m.: Reese’s Final Four Friday practice sessions, AT&T Stadium. Free.

11 a.m.: Tip-Off Tailgate presented by Infiniti, AT&T Stadium. Free.

Noon-8 p.m.: Bracket Town presented by Capital One, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Halls A-D; $10 adults; $5 children 3-11, college students, 55 and older, and military; free 2 and under.

3-10 p.m.: NCAA March Madness Music Festival: AT&T Block Party featuring Jason Aldean, Reunion Park, downtown Dallas

4:30 p.m.: Reese’s College All-Star Game, AT&T Stadium. Free.

7:30 p.m.: Final Four Friday Reese’s SLANT Celebration, AT&T Stadium

APRIL 5

7:15 a.m.: Northwestern Mutual Road to the Final Four 5K — on-site registration and check-in, Fair Park

8 a.m.: Coca-Cola NCAA Youth Clinics check-in, Duncanville, Arlington and Fort Worth, registration required

8:30 a.m.: Northwestern Mutual Road to the Final Four 5K race begins, Fair Park.

10 a.m.-7 p.m.: Bracket Town presented by Capital One, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Halls A-D; $10 adults; $5 children 3-11, college students, 55 and older, and military; free 2 and under.

10 a.m.-7 p.m.: Kings of the Court 3 on 3 Tournament presented by Burger King, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Halls A-D

Noon-9 p.m.: NCAA March Madness Music Festival, Coca-Cola Zero Countdown featuring the Killers and Tim McGraw, Reunion Park, downtown Dallas. Free.

1-4:45 p.m.: Tip-Off Tailgate presented by Infiniti (game ticket holders only), AT&T Stadium

3 p.m.: Doors open for national semifinals, AT&T Stadium

5 p.m.: National semifinals, AT&T Stadium

APRIL 6

9:30 a.m.: Check-in for Final Four Dribble refreshed by Coca-Cola, Dallas City Hall Plaza, registration required.

11:30 a.m.: Final Four Dribble refreshed by Coca-Cola, Dallas City Hall Plaza

10 a.m.-7 p.m.: Bracket Town presented by Capital One, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Halls A-D; $10 adults; $5 children 3-11, college students, 55 and older, and military; free 2 and under.

10 a.m.-7 p.m.: Kings of the Court 3 on 3 Tournament presented by Burger King, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Halls A-D

Noon-9 p.m.: NCAA March Madness Musical Festival: Capital One JamFest featuring Bruce Springsteen, Reunion Park, downtown Dallas. Free.

APRIL 7

Noon-7 p.m.: Bracket Town presented by Capital One, Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Halls A-D; $10 adults; $5 children 3-11, college students, 55 and older, and military; free 2 and under.

4-7:45 p.m.: Tip-Off Tailgate presented by Infiniti (game ticket holders only), AT&T Stadium

6 p.m.: Doors open for National Championship, AT&T Stadium

8 p.m.: Tip-off for National Championship, AT&T Stadium

Visit www.ncaa.com/final-four for more information.