GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – As the Packers and City of Green Bay continue to work through a lease extension for Lambeau Field, other issues have come up as a result of those conversations, including on-filed emergency medical services on game day.
The team and city have been at odds on what roles certain providers should play on the field.
For four decades, privately owned County Rescue, not to be mistaken with Brown County, has provided game day on-field emergency medical services at Lambeau Field.
City of Green Bay officials say they’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, for months to address that arrangement and overall game day safety plans.
“Fire Chief Knott is the ultimate authority when it comes to public safety,” said Green Bay City Council President Brian Johnson. “None of this can be trumped by a lease negotiation. He has identified gaps in the safety protocol and has attempted on several occasions to open a dialogue between the Green Bay Packers and County Rescue. Regrettably all of his attempts have been turned down.”
In May, about four months before the start of this regular season, City of Green Bay Deputy Attorney Lacey Cochart wrote a letter to the Packers, hoping to address the issue.
Fast forward to the Friday before the Packers’ second home regular season game. The city wrote the Packers again – referencing there wasn’t a response to the May letter.
Attorney Cochart wrote, “We must immediately address on-field game day emergency medical services.”
Cochart said there was an incident at the first home game, which was two weeks earlier.
“Our understanding of the incident is that an NFL representative or camera person experienced a medical emergency,” wrote Cochart. “County Rescue staff were somehow notified and apparently responded with their personnel and cot. This is unacceptable and not in accordance with any stadium plan and, as you know, NFL requirements for the presence of dedicated ambulances and staff for each team.”
Cochart says County Rescue’s response caused a lot of confusion and inefficiencies.
Cochart told the Packers Green Bay Metro Fire would add a team to handle on-field, non-player issues for the game in two days.
Packers’ attorney, Marissa Meli, responded to the city the next day.
Meli wrote the city “grossly mischaracterized events that took place at the game” two weeks ago and “grossly mischaracterized applicable NFL rules.”
“We will not allow such a critical priority to be trivialized for political purposes on a Friday evening before a home game,” wrote Meli to the city.
That gameday, Green Bay Metro Fire showed up to provide on-field services.
A city letter written to the Packers a week after the game alleges County Rescue turned the crew away.
“County Rescue represented the denial was a message provided indirectly by Doug Collins (Packers head of security),” wrote Cochart.
A Packers letter states the team warned the city to keep things status quo for safety reasons, yet the city “proceeded with its tactics to disrupt standard services at the game, causing confusion on the field.”
“The City subsequently issued us surprise invoices for charges related to the very actions we asked the City not to take out of concern for gameday safety,” wrote Meli in her letter to the city.
FOX 11 asked Packers Director of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey about the incident during an October 16th interview about stadium lease negotiations.
“These disagreements are going to be there, but the city and the team have always worked through those,” said Popkey. “We see these as trivial issues that don’t need to be part of this discussion. Those can be managed. Our focus is on the lease and what needs to be done there.”
“This has absolutely nothing to do with the lease and the Packers attempt to correlate the two is misguided,” said Council President Brian Johnson during a October 23rd press conference on the lease negotiations.
City officials have said this issue is a result of Green Bay Metro Fire Chief Matthew Knott reviewing gameday safety plans after joining the department in February of 2023.
Knott had agreed to do an interview with FOX 11 for this story, but changed his mind – stating negotiations between the city and the Packers have picked back up. He says he doesn’t want to jeopardize those talks.
Knott did tell FOX 11 he believes anything is on the table, including Green Bay Metro taking over County Rescue’s gameday role. At minimum, Knott hopes there can be better coordination between all gameday emergency providers.
FOX 11 asked County Rescue for an interview. It sent us a statement, which says in part, “We feel it would be inappropriate to comment on the discussions related to lease agreements between the City of Green Bay and the Green Bay Packers.”
FOX 11 asked Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich if the city would be pursuing the medical services issue if it weren’t for the lease negotiations.
“Yes, I think so,” said Genrich. “What the lease negotiations gave us the opportunity to do is take a look at the document that we have in place and just making sure that all parties are abiding by the terms of the lease. That’s what we have been doing.”
Through their letters to one another, it is clear the Packers and city have different interpretations of the lease when it comes to on-field emergency medical services.
“Even if the City could better explain its point and basis, we would still insist on working with County Rescue for specialized “on-field” safety reasons,” Meli wrote in a letter to the city.
The Packers provided other reasons for going with County Rescue, including extensive and ongoing specialized annual training.
FOX 11 was welcomed into one of those training sessions ahead of last season.
“We work through spine-injured athletes, we work through truncal trauma, we work through cardiac arrest,” said Bryan Engel, the Packers VP of Player Health and Performance, during a July 2023 interview. “And all of that is to make sure that we’re ready to go on Sundays.”
Chief Knott tells FOX 11 he’s confident Green Bay Metro Fire personnel would be able to be trained to handle any scenario that County Rescue currently does.
As for the stadium lease negotiations, Chief Knott says the emergency medical services are now being lumped in with those talks. He says they weren’t before.
However, the Packers tell FOX 11 that isn’t the case. The team provided the following statement:
The Green Bay Packers and the NFL are committed to player health and safety and the highest level of treatment of players for any on-field medical situation that may occur. County Rescue has served as the on-field medical team for more than 40 years and is a highly prepared unit with ongoing specialized training that follows all NFL protocols. The Packers are disappointed by the Mayor’s reckless actions on this very important matter by politicizing it and turning it into a lease negotiation issue. This is a matter that is not covered in the current lease and will not be included in any lease discussions.
NFL Chief Spokesman Brian McCarthy is also weighing in on the issue through a statement:
The health and safety of NFL players is our primary concern. Club medical staff and independent game day medical personnel prepare and train extensively for moments on gameday when rapid, expert medical care is required.
Trusted, respected and highly trained local on-field medical teams such as County Rescue, play an integral role in the welfare of NFL players on gameday. The health of players should not be used as part of negotiation discussions.
The lease for Lambeau Field between the Packers, City of Green Bay, and Green Bay/Brown County Professional Football Stadium District runs until 2032 with team options to extend another 10 years.
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