MANKATO, Minn. — Incidents of terrorism at entertainment venues worldwide have heightened safety concerns at similar venues across the country. But a recent incident in Minnesota is prompting questions about where the line is between ensuring fans are safe and inconveniencing them to the point where they decide not to return.

Hockey fans attending the recent Minnesota State home opener against St. Cloud State were so frustrated by security-related delays getting into the Verizon Wireless Center in downtown Mankato that MSU athletics director Kevin Buisman wondered how close they were to losing it.

Tighter security measures, including using metal-detectors on all fans, were aimed at preventing any chance of mass violence in the arena. But the long lines, which kept some fans from reaching their seats until the second period, may have left more than a few with violent thoughts.

“It was almost a paradox,” said Buisman, director of athletics at Minnesota State University. “We’re just lucky it didn’t result in any mob mentality where people get frustrated to the point that they storm the doors or something.”

Management of the city-owned arena was apologetic after the chaotic scene, taking responsibility for the log-jam at the doors.

“We just weren’t properly prepared for a full-house crowd,” said Burt Lyman, Verizon Wireless Center director. “We deeply apologize.”

Security workers also weren’t as thoroughly trained as they should have been in using the metal-detecting wands, Lyman said.

“We did not have enough staffing on hand,” he said. “And probably the training with the wands wasn’t as complete as it needed to be.”

The civic center had attempted to publicize the increased security measures being implemented, encouraging fans to come early. But a season-opening party outside the arena, known as Hockey Night in Civic Center Mankato, proved to be a tough attraction for fans to leave, which contributed to a pre-faceoff rush to the building’s entrances.

“Alcohol was being served and people were having a great time and the weather was perfect,” Lyman said.

Lyman, Buisman, city and university security officials and others were scheduled to meet Monday to discuss fixes for the problem. They’ll also discuss the level of screening that’s appropriate for a college hockey game in Mankato.

The civic center is ramping up its security measures in the wake of terror incidents in a variety of settings worldwide — in Paris in 2015, in England in May, and, earlier this month, the horrifying gun attack on a concert crowd in Las Vegas.

“Frankly, Las Vegas was a game-changer,” Lyman told the Mankato, Minnesota Free Press. “Since the shooting in Las Vegas, we’ve had our three largest promoters — and actually the largest promoter in the country — say ‘You’ll have to have metal detectors and wands and possibly bomb-sniffing dogs or we won’t be playing your building.'”

Mankato City Manager Pat Hentges said there’s a fundamental difference between concerts and a college hockey game.

“A concert, we’re forced to have that level of security because somebody else is paying the insurance,” Hentges said.

He also noted that measures to keep ticket-holders from sneaking weapons into a venue wouldn’t have stopped the attacks in Paris, where armed gunmen forced their way into a nightclub, in Manchester, where the attack was aimed at crowds leaving the concert, or in Las Vegas, where the shooter was firing at the outdoor concert from the 32nd floor of a hotel.

It’s a difficult balancing act for someone in Lyman’s position. Excessive caution can lead to unnecessary hassles for people attending civic center events. But if security isn’t rigorous enough and a Mankato crowd is subject to an attack, he would feel responsible.

“It’s hard,” Lyman said. “It’s hard to look these patrons in the eye and know they aren’t having a good experience. At the same time, the most important thing I do is keep customers safe.”

While Buisman feels similarly conflicted, he notes that the afternoon of the hockey game there was an MSU football game on campus that attracted a similar crowd. And the security plan at Blakeslee Stadium doesn’t rely on metal detectors or other searches that create long, plodding lines at the entrances.

“We don’t have that same level of security at our events on campus,” he said. “That doesn’t make us right or them right. We just have to have that discussion.”

Actually, it will probably take multiple discussions over the next week or two, according to Buisman. The goal, though, is to have the problem fixed by the time the men’s hockey team hosts Michigan Tech Oct. 27 and 28.

The match-up between the WCHA’s two top-ranked teams should be another good draw for hockey fans. At least those who didn’t vow on Oct. 7 to never put themselves through another game at the civic center.

“I guess I’m grateful for the level of patience people have had about this,” Buisman said. “But at the same time, they’re all waiting for some response to ensure that that won’t happen again. … A lot of people realize they can vote with their pocketbook and just not come back.”

Fischenich writes for the Mankato, Minnesota Free Press.