Safe Zone 2

S afe Zone 2 is a Refugee centre based in, and around, the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Safe Zone is therefore situated in an area heavily focusing on sports goods. Longhorn LTD, Texas Athletics Nutrition Center, the Recreational Sports Center, the University of Texas Club, Red McCombs Red Zone and a single Starbucks.

The size and vast array of goods, controllable entry points and bedding make it a suitable place to hold vast numbers of people until the outbreak dies down. Given that size, the place is severely crowded by all types of lost souls. Rationing is pretty tough, despite the huge stockpile of food. The top brass figuring they can extend the food situation to last them years, at the expense of a lot of people never feeling really ‘full’. Early in the morning and in the evening, you miss it: You don’t get any. Women get bigger portions. Other commodities are rare: Not enough space to go around. Barely any spare blankets. All this results into the military reducing the number of people accepted inside, even when healthy.

              <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <h2 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium <p data-rte-fromparser="true">The stadium is located at the very heart of Austin Texas as, what many locals call it, the jewel of American football. Just expanded August of last year, the impressive building can hold up to an excess of 100 000 people, not including the pitch. Refugees fill most, if not all, of them as the pitch itself is full of makeshift tents and a military encampment right in the centre to oversee it all. It has all the essentials needed to support a crowd of this size, though the locker rooms are still considered out-of-date and filthy. A large screen that announced all sorts of governmental warnings before power was cut. 32 gates that span all the walls. The South Side, just below the scoreboard, is the Corral Club. (a Water station) Now used to give out food as a makeshift rationing area given it’s controlled space, all heavily guarded by the military. Several non-functioning escalators litter the West Side, below the seats. East Side has a smaller amount of ‘special’ ones as well, for the handicapped to reach their seats. Non-Functioning toilets can be seen in any corner. Finally, on the East Side is the entrance to the University of Texas Club, past the suites.

<p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">It is in close vicinity to the University of Texas (directly to the west) has resulted in many students seeking refugee here.

<p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <h2 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> The University of Texas Club

<p data-rte-fromparser="true">The University of Texas Club is located on the sixth and seventh floors of the east side of Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Club previously offered meeting rooms, Member workstations and fine dining while on business meetings. A bar, conference rooms, a big open area that could fit up to 300 guests. Even had its own kitchen. Now it is just part of the ‘scenery’. Most, if not all, of the fine dining, has been confiscated by the military and stored in a different area.

<h2 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Recreational Sports Center <p data-rte-fromparser="true">The recreational Sports centre is a massive complex (120,000 gross square feet of space to be precise) that was used by a wide variety of people. It feels quite spacious inside and has 3 basketball courts or 6 volleyball courts, 8 handball courts, 2 international-size squash courts, Weight training/cardio room, Multi-purpose/dance rooms, Lounge areas and a Personal training studio. The much-needed room was used to store even more refugees, the weight training room being turned into a small Radio Room that acts as the de facto command centre for all the staff inside the stadium. The Personal training studio has been made into an armoury which operates on a ‘shoot first, ask questions third’ policy. Most of the exits have been sealed off, besides the ones that lead to the Stadium, with military personnel keeping a tight-knit on the outs and in’s. Due to its previous use as part of the University of Texas, many students have come to reside inside.

<h2 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Longhorns LTD. <p data-rte-fromparser="true">A sports equipment shop designed to support the needs for the entire stadium and then some. Though not massive in size, it was jam-packed with T-shirts, sweatpants, jerseys and home décor. So packed that it wasn’t clear at first sight just how much some of the looters have stolen. It’s pained all-around yellow with a simple cashier desk in the back, the glass panels not being able to hold out against a couple of bricks that have shattered them. It is located past the Stadium gates, resulting in it being in the middle of a ‘lawless’ area.

<p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> <h2 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> Texas Athletics Nutrition Centre

<p data-rte-fromparser="true">The Athletics Nutrition Center is located in the North End Zone of the Stadium. It was a large mess hall that provided facilities for all types of food. Salad, dairies, meat, even a stone furnace for when that extra power runs out. There is a single exit on each end of the Center, plus an additional staff exit/unloading area in the back that leads to the large storage area that held the precious ingredients for all variety of stuff. Enough to last months, maybe a year, if used with measure. This had led to an especially big military presence; no one is allowed in the vicinity of the centre unless authorized.

<h2 data-rte-spaces-before="1" data-rte-spaces-after="1" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"> The Red McCombs Red Zone <p data-rte-fromparser="true">The Red McCombs Red Zone food court is located on the north end of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, With nearly 18,000 square feet of open space. Several UT bus shuttle routes (CP, NR, WL, LS) used to stop right outside gates 14 and 16 of the stadium, which has led to dense roadblocks right in front: A makeshift barrier. It held a wide variety of fast food joints like Subway, Starbucks, Gatti’s Pizza and Gigi’s cupcakes, the latter of which ran out even before the outbreak started. Only a standard amount of military personnel stand guard, as a good portion of the food has already been moved.

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