Dateline Carson – At this evening’s 6 o’clock City Council meeting, the ambitious city of Carson – anticipating the arrival of two NFL teams will consider a municipal law banning drones from flying lower than 400 feet within a half-mile of “any large venue special event, including but not limited to any Carson stadium” while such a special event is ongoing.
Carson Mayor Albert Robles said the measure is needed to protect public safety. It is part of the city’s efforts to prepare for the possibility of the NFL early next year approving a Chargers-Raiders move to a stadium in Carson.
“The number of drone overflights over sporting events in particular has grown dramatically in recent years,” Mr. Robles said recently.
“In this era of heightened concern about terrorism it is particularly incumbent on the city to be vigilant about protecting the safety of the public attending large public events.”
In early September, a shoebox-sized drone flew over the tennis courts at the Louis Armstrong Stadium during the U.S. Tennis Open in New York before crashing into spectator seating.
The previous day, a drone crashed into the scoreboard of the University of Kentucky football stadium before the start of a game.
In August, officials at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers, banned drones from flying within a half-mile of their stadium.
This ban was enacted after several incidents occurred at the stadium involving drones.
Federal Aviation Administration rules now prohibit drones from flying at or below 3,000 feet within three nautical miles of a major sports event. The ban applies to flights from one hour before a qualifying sports event to one hour after such an event.
However, the FAA’s ability to enforce its own ban is seen as problematic, city officials say. The FAA rule also applies only to drone flights over sports events with seating for 30,000 spectators.
“The FAA rule does not apply to the 20,000-seat StubHub Stadium, which is the home of the Galaxy soccer team, nor to any other large public event in Carson’s parks or at Cal State Dominguez Hills,” Mr. Robles said. “We want to protect all our major events from a tragic accident or attack.”
Mr. Schwada may be contacted at john.schwada@gmail.com
