Haymarket Park prepares for possibility of hail at Uncle Sam Jam!

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The staff at Haymarket Park were in full ‘prep mode’ on Thursday before the annual Uncle Sam Jam on Friday.

In addition to normal procedure, organizers of the celebration were also preparing for the possibility of golf ball sized hail.

Haymarket is home to the Saltdogs baseball team, and their general manager, Shane Tritz helps keep things running smoothly for events at the stadium.

After 25 years in the baseball business, Tritz says keeping stadium guests during big events is always a top priority.

“We want to make sure everybody is safe during this show,” he said.

“The events are all about the fans. The events are about putting on a show where fans have a good time and enjoy it, and it’s something that we’re looking forward to.”

This is the second year the Uncle Sam Jam will be held at Haymarket Park, but this year temperatures are expected to reach 96 degrees.

Tritz says all the more reason to make their emergency plans rock solid.

“We’ll know this prior to gates opening, that plan,” he said.

“We’re going to be meeting with the city of Lincoln in conjunction with myself. We’ll be meeting tomorrow at 11 o’clock, and we have a meeting at 3:30 tomorrow, just to be able to update everybody with what the plans are for it.”

The City of Lincoln has already changed the start time from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. to help accommodate the high heat conditions.

Tritz says once everyone arrives, they will make sure the front gates remain wide open in case the elements hit and people need to get home.

If the situation calls for sheltering in place, the first step?

“Alert everybody. Communicate, communicate, communicate to ensure we get people to safety. Obviously, everything will be relayed over the sound system,” said Tritz.

“We also have a 30-foot by 60-foot video board that we can have messaging on that. We put them in a protective area underneath the concourse, the public restrooms, areas that are protected from the weather.”

The City of Lincoln’s social pages will have all updates regarding the Uncle Sam Jam and will continue to post need-to-know information during the celebration too.

Tritz also mentioned that law enforcement and the fire department are also readying themselves to keep people safe too and have been to all of their planning meetings.

As for the best-case scenario?

“Firework shows, live band, balloons, face painters. So, definitely going to be an exciting event here at Haymarket Park tomorrow,” said Tritz.