Forgive me for not explaining my concerns enough. I thought it somewhat obvious that "Game Management" would inevitably be responsible for the actual removal of any safety threat related to the operation of a drone, at (their) "sports venue".
The question seems more to what, if any, authority, or responsibility, the game officials have regarding game participants, in the face of whatever safety threat exists WHILE GAME MANAGEMENT MIGHT BE DEALING WITH ELIMINATING THE THREAT.
It seems reasonable to be seriously concerned about any flying object, you have no control over, likely have no idea who is operating or what that operator's intentions, or skill of controlling that flying object may be.
PRESUMING that ANY collateral damage, or threat, from that flying object failing would be limited by some arbitrary, imaginary restriction barriers, seems somewhat overly optimistic and dangerous. Waiting until some accident actually "interferes with the game itself", which might include causing serious injury to participants, game officials, sideline personnel. rather than taking rational preventive action to avoid, or prevent, such risk seems somewhat careless and open to enormous liability concerns.
You might consider the similarity to the game official's response to lightening; both lightening and some fool operating a drone pose unknown aerial threats, both are totally and completely beyond game official's control or management, both have the potential of causing serious damage or injury and neither are bound by any arbitrary or imaginary boundary lines they are required to abide by. We need to, and are generally EXPECTED TO respond quickly and decisively with, "the authority to rule promptly, and in the spirit of good sportsmanship, on ANY SITUATION, not specifically covered in the rules (NFHS 1-1-6)"
Although we may have some additional level of comfort in knowing who controls the lightening, we can't reasonably ASSUME the potential dangers are irrelevant, or worth the risk of ignoring, or deferring to Game Management's correction responsibilities, regardless of how serious, intense or noble they may be.
Sometimes we just have to do, what needs to be done, which is of course, a personal decision based on the circumstance we're actually dealing with.
It's a distinct possibility that Game Management may well consider interrupting the game, beneficial to their efforts in quickly eliminating the threat to their venue.
