Stadiums are embracing emerging tech to keep fans safe, says Charles Burns, Director, Commercial Facilities at ISS.
It’s no secret that technology has changed the game – literally and figuratively – when it comes to professional sports.
Take the National Football League (NFL), for example. Play calling now relies on data-driven analytics to help coaches make more informed decisions about what to do next.
So why wouldn’t we use the same kind of technology to keep the athletes and spectators safe?
Throughout my career with some of the largest sports venues in the world – such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hard Rock Stadium (home of the Miami Dolphins) – the sheer scale and complexity of securing events has brought with it significant challenges.
However, there’s a belief that security teams should be at the forefront of providing ways to meet spectator expectations for safety and security during events.
The good news is that security technology is paving the way toward a safer fan experience at stadiums and bringing with it the opportunity to tie these investments into business goals.
Since the early 2000s, the nature of securing these stadium spaces has changed.
There used to be a “guards, gates and guns” mentality that centered around having people in place to keep order.
However, as time went on – and especially following the pandemic – the workforce became a significant challenge and many organizations were unable to meet staffing needs.
Security leaders now have to be creative in solving these challenges.
Simultaneously, the technology on the market today has become more intelligent, using advanced tools, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics that are better able to detect and monitor for suspicious behavior.
Layering these capabilities on top of technology already in place, such as video surveillance, became a critical component for addressing a shrinking workforce.
Sporting events in particular are notorious for rowdy spectators, where public intoxication and heated rivalries can pave the way for confrontations between other fans and security resources.
Additionally, traffic congestion, the ability for emergency response vehicles to have access, parking facilities and ensuring safety inside and outside of the venue, increase the area that needs to be covered by security technology and field resources.
Many venues have tools such as access control, video surveillance, perimeter protection and more, but there are events that are far more complex with regards to risk.
When you look at an enclosed stadium that can be in an urban area as opposed to a fixed motorsport facility as compared to an NFL stadium that might have mixed use designations for restaurants and retail, the challenges become more nuanced.
Temporary events, for example, like the Formula One race in Las Vegas or the US Open Tennis Championship might require more ingenuity and risk-based evaluation of security needs.
Emerging trends in technology in the event and large venues space include more intelligence, whether it’s through AI, video analytics modules that can detect anomalies or certain behaviors, or software that acts as a force multiplier when staffing is an issue.
Let’s dive deeper:
While there’s a lot of confusion around the use of AI to make decisions, in the world of sports and venue security, the role that AI plays is in acting as a force multiplier for technology already in place.
The video surveillance cameras that are already present are a great place to start and coupling AI with video allows the venue to get people in safely, as well as ensure that vehicles that come on site are free of prohibited items.
Additionally, AI will continue to identify areas of risk as it learns behaviors and alerts security resources about potential threats, allowing the venue to become more proactive in their protection.
So what is AI going to do? It’s going to help you when things are moving quickly and you need to monitor thousands of people in a space.
Incoming video, coupled with intelligent analytics that provides security teams with more information about a given situation, is a small piece of the puzzle.
However, it can act as a force multiplier for large-scale events and the sheer number of vehicles and people entering and exiting during a short period of time.
For example, under vehicle surveillance systems can scan for vehicle-borne threats on a mix of buses, sedans, trucks and vans.
The addition of a system that enhances security by removing the human factor from the screening process and increasing visual accuracy can help augment already thin security teams by providing additional surveillance.
Couple this kind of technology with the ability for the venue or stadium to capture license plate information and the identification of vehicles of interest becomes more streamlined as a result.
Video analytics that detect certain behaviors and alert operators to behaviors that can quickly be addressed are also serving as a way to augment on-the-ground venue personnel.
Analytics now exist that can detect physical movements, such as hitting, kicking, punching and more, alerting someone in an operations center about an act of violence being committed.
Additionally, the use of behavior analytics can provide the ability to become more proactive.
For example, stadiums can increase their identification of insider threats in a venue or stadium.
Gaining access to a restricted area through a badge swipe by someone who is not authorized to be in that area might lead to being able to address a potential theft or act of vandalism.
Detecting certain behaviors through intelligent analytics can act as a deterrent and help security leaders do more, with less.
There’s a reason why so many of the technology investments mentioned above are used as a way to automate tasks at stadiums.
Event venues and stadiums continually face the challenge of too few workers to take on security roles.
With security leadership trying to do more with less boots on the ground, technology is a way to enhance surveillance protocols and meet the needs of the organization.
When workforce challenges exist, security leaders have to use tools like analytics and AI to augment workforce numbers and enable the business to succeed.
One of the biggest changes that security leaders have seen is a significant shift toward technology investments that also can be used to meet business goals.
As conversations around whether or not to invest in AI-driven technology continue, the leaders who are able to tell a story and frame a business case around this investment to leadership will see the most success.
Talking to legal teams about the use of technology that protects privacy or can be used to identify bogus slip-and-fall claims or even to human resources about using video for training purposes are how successful security leaders are finding allies across organizations for technology purchases.
Security leaders at stadiums have an obligation and duty of care and responsibility as venue operators and security chiefs to take care of our people, guests and vendors who come on site.
It’s up to us in this space that we collectively use the tech available to do that.
Charles Burns, Director, Commercial Facilities, ISS, has more than a quarter-century of experience as a security executive, having served in senior leadership positions at organizations like Uber and ASM Global throughout his career.
Charles also has more than a decade of hands-on experience in protecting the people and assets of professional sports leagues, having previously served as the Vice President of Security for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium as well as Vice President of Security and Risk Management for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage Field House.
He also formerly served as Corporate Security Director for Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Director of Security for the Indy Racing League.
This article was originally published in the March edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.
