Posted on: Thursday, November 25, 2004
Security chief helps Maui tourney flow
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
LAHAINA, Maui — Paul Gerlach has been organizing security for basketball tournaments for a long time, and last week's melee during an NBA game only reinforced the approach that he has been using at the Maui Invitational for years.
"Because of what happened in Detroit, we aren't doing anything different," said Gerlach, owner of Safety Service Systems, a Chicago-based security company that has coordinated security at the college tournament for the past eight years.
Each year Gerlach faces a tough task. He must keep the peace in an arena built for 2,400 people, while the marquee teams that are playing consistently attract more fans than much bigger venues can hold.
"It's a small place and you can't use a lot of staff," said Gerlach. "So what we do is move people back and forth."
And Gerlach does have some people available.
In addition to the five people that travel with him to the tournament from Chicago, Gerlach enlists a formidable force of mostly local people. To handle the business of showing people to their seats, Gerlach counts on about 40 volunteers from local organizations, schools, and charities.
The volunteers work as ushers, without pay, but Kemper Sports Management, coordinators of the Maui Invitational, make donations to the organizations that the volunteers represent. Joe Balangitao, athletic director at Lahainaluna High School, who managed traffic behind the makai basket Tuesday, said he doesn't mind giving up some time to help his school.
"You can't beat this," he said, gesturing to the court, where North Carolina and Tennessee were locked in competition. "It's a great deal."
In addition to the 40 volunteers and the five staff members from Chicago, Gerlach hires about 16 local residents who have experience in law enforcement or the security business. They work primarily as supervisors, Gerlach said, helping to coordinate security and people traffic.
Gerlach uses his lighter force, all dressed in light-green T-shirts bearing the tournament logo, to man an event that is consistently sold out. Also, since the Lahaina Civic Center is a public gym not intended for the top college basketball teams in the country, the stands are close to the team benches and the media area.
Gerlach likes to move his staff around using the same people at a lot of different posts. For example, one person may guard the gate before the game as fans file in, but then move behind the benches once the game starts.
A Maui police officer dutifully sits near the exits in each corner of the Lahaina Civic Center during each game.
The assignments are special duty, meaning the officers work during their time off from the department. The officers sign up for the duty on a first-come, first-served basis, and one officer cannot work more than a single day of special duty at the tournament, police said.
"We're here in case there are incidents that security can't handle," said Maui police officer Dean Rickard, 40, a 17-year-veteran of the department. "If it hits the fan, rest assured, they look for us."
The Maui police officers working the tournament are paid about $30 an hour by Maui Invitational coordinators.
Gerlach is paid between $50,000 and $60,000 for his services, by Kemper Sports Management.
"The good thing about this tournament is it's small and they don't sell alcohol," said Peter Delima, a Maui police officer with 20 years on the job. "The fans are well behaved. The key is no alcohol over here."
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.
