Jazz's arena evacuated after game because of suspicious package

Tom Gatto

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Jazz's arena evacuated after game because of suspicious package image

An unattended box forced the evacuation of Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday after a game between the Jazz and Warriors.

The all-clear was given two hours later, just after 11:30 p.m. MT (1:30 a.m. ET Saturday). Salt Lake City police later said that the box contained common tools.

Jazz beat reporter Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a bomb-sniffing dog gave a "hit" on the box, which had been left under a table inside an arena restaurant. The box was X-rayed by the Salt Lake bomb squad while secruity personnel were clearing the arena.

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Jazz players Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles encouraged people around the arena to be safe while the box was being X-rayed and inspected for explosives:

The Jazz won the game 113-109. They are scheduled to play the Pelicans at the arena Saturday .

This article has been updated.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.