SAN ANTONIO — As San Antonio Spurs faithful seek parking at home games, file in line at the Frost Bank Center doors, and snap photos with one another outside of the arena, an eye in the sky is keeping everyone safe.
If you have not noticed or heard the buzzing above your head outside the Frost Bank Center, the team employs drone technology to make sure everyone and everything is safe before tipoff.
"It just helps us with crowd efficiency, traffic efficiency, maintaining security around the premises, being able to find and locate persons, kids specifically," said Spurs drone operator Kyle O'Donnell. "It helps a lot with that. Just very effective using the thermal and the camera to be able to see different perspectives and help us find what we're looking for."
The pair of drones (a DJI Matrice 30T, and a DJI Mavic 3) look like something out of the Star Wars universe.
They're equipped with the latest technology including thermal cameras to detect dangers, traffic situations, or lost children.
And speaking of dangers, the Spurs drones already helped protect people from dangerous situations at the Frost Center: Gas leaks and hit-and-runs.
It's just all part of the effort to keep fans safe.
"We've had hit and runs. [We] have found gas leaks, and we've been able to see that with the drone's thermal camera. I've been able to videotape everything and see it in real-time from the drone's perspective," O'Donnell said. "We were able to catch it and help provide that better amount of security for everyone attending the event."
Fan safety is the top priority but the drones also serve in a promotional capacity for the team.
If you happen to be watching a televised game and notice aerial shots of the Frost Center during the broadcast, it is the drones that are providing those wonderful shots for the viewing audience.
"We're able to get different footage for the games. In between the games, they have the halftime. They'll show the scoreboard, and you'll see the big [Frost] Center there from the sky," he said. "That's the video we're taking. They use that video and put it onto the halftime with the score."
The safety and security of the fans are of the utmost priority, especially in today's world where tragic events happen more often than not.
The drones are used pre and post-home games O'Donnell says. They fly across the sky (up to 400 feet) and hover over the parking lots all while feeding valuable information on gameday.
"We want to make sure everything's going smoothly, everything's staying safe," he said. "Looking for anything wrong, anything in suspicion. Maybe someone, especially nowadays, you got to look out for those things, and suspicious people."
And it's not just fans attending home Spurs games where the drones are dotting the San Antonio sky. The drones are also used at Toyota Field for San Antonio FC matches to ensure everyone is safe.
So the next time you head to the Frost Center, look up towards the sky. Take comfort in knowing the Spurs are taking measures to protect the community as fans come together to cheer the Silver and Black in a safe environment thanks to a pair of drones and their operator.
"Typically, we start an hour before games. We do that all the way up until 30 minutes into the game, and then go from there," he said. "Safety is number one."
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5