MERIDIAN PARTICIPATES IN MAKING HOOP DREAMS COME TRUE IN A SAFE SPACE

Barriers at Hoopfest

Hoopfest Court

ARCHER 1200 BARRIERS SECURE SPOKANE’S HUGE HOOPFEST TOURNAMENT

The crowd’s safety is our biggest concern. The measures in place before, with the garbage trucks, just looked bad and this year we chose to use the barriers from Meridian instead.”

— Riley Stockton, Hoopfest Executive Director

SPOKANE, WA, US, June 29, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- It takes a lot to run the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament and at the same time keep the hundreds of thousands of fans and players safe. This year for the first time, event organizers worked with Meridian Rapid Defense Group to put together a barrier rental plan to ensure it all went smoothly.

Ninety-nine Archer 1200 Barriers took the place of concrete barriers and garbage trucks, which were used in the past to block the streets, leading to the many playing locations.

“The crowd’s safety is our biggest concern,” said Riley Stockton, Hoopfest Executive Director. “The measures in place before, with the garbage trucks, just looked bad and this year we chose to use the barriers from Meridian instead.”

“The barriers allowed for everyone’s increased safety and compared to those trucks they looked really great. And keep in mind cost-wise, with each of those trucks we had to pay a driver to sit there, in the truck, for the length of the tournament.”

During the two-day event more than 175,000 people entered the pedestrian “ring of safety” created by the rented mobile barriers. The series of games involved 3,500 teams from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Meridian’s specialists first created a vehicle safety mitigation plan. The barriers, which have the strength to stop a moving vehicle, guarded every entry point while not interfering with the smooth flow of fans to and from the event.

Peter Whitford, CEO of Meridian Rapid Defense Group said, “While we also sell the Archer barriers, we do a great deal of rental events as well. When it comes to those really big events, such as Hoopfest, we happily put together an extensive rental plan for our clients. Meridian then takes on the role of having our specialists at the event to oversee the operation, providing full hands on support.”

During the weekend the mobility of the Archer barriers came into play after a man suffered a heart attack and an ambulance had to quickly enter the secured zone.

Mr. Stockton said, “With the Meridian barriers being so simple to move, it made it easy for the emergency services to get in and out. We only had to make one call to the Meridian team, and it was quickly handled.”

The Archer 1200 Barrier is crash tested and SAFETY Act Certified, meaning the Federal Government accepts full liability protection for all users, in the case of an act of terrorism, domestic or foreign.

Planning for next year’s Hoopfest will soon be underway and according to Mr. Stockton the Archer barriers will be part of the plan. Asked if the barriers passed the test and will be invited back next year Mr. Stockton replied, “Oh yeah. One thousand percent.”

Meridian Archer 1200 Barriers are “SAFETY Act Certified” by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) providing the ultimate standard in keeping people, communities and places safer. For more information about Meridian Rapid Defense Group and the Archer 1200 vehicle barrier visit www.meridian-barrier.com