Safety precautions to keep area basketball fans from attending Wednesday’s regional games in Peoria

PEORIA (25 News Now) - Peoria Public Schools and the city’s police department are tightening up security on the eve of Wednesday’s IHSA regional boys’ basketball games at Peoria High School.

PPS released a statement late Tuesday afternoon saying student athletes and cheerleaders will be given limited tickets, and only those ticketholders will be allowed to see Manual versus Peoria High at 4:30 p.m. and Richwoods against Peoria Notre Dame at 6 p.m.

PPS employees wearing an employee badge and a guest will also be allowed to attend.

A PPS spokesperson did not respond to requests to explain specifically why the precautions are needed. The district’s statement said only that it was done “in response to recent events in Peoria.”

That same weekend at Peoria Stadium, attendance for the Notre Dame-Manual game was limited to two spectators for each player, cheerleader and bandleader.

Wednesday games will be livestreamed for free, and a link to the games will be on the district’s website and on each of the schools’ websites.

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