Imagine being in charge of keeping 70,000 NFL fans — many who have been drinking for hours prior to entering your facility — not only comfortable but also safe from any harm for the duration of the game. The professional facility operator has to manage every detail of game day, from the smallest of safety concerns — slip-and-fall accidents, cases of heat illness — to the most concerning — active shooter incidents, nefarious drone flights and cyberattacks. A lapse in preparedness or vigilance and any of these incidents can result in tragedy.
In September, the National Center for Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at The University of Southern Mississippi released the second iteration of its Venue Security Director Survey (the first was conducted in 2022), which surveyed 152 venue security directors across MLB, MLS, and the NBA, NFL and NHL. What follows is a breakdown of the survey’s results, as well as some of the center’s recommendations for how facility operators can continue to improve their safety and security efforts.
Actions have consequences
If you’ve seen videos on social media of physical altercations in the stands at professional sporting events that make you wonder whether fan behavior has gotten worse, you’re not alone. According to NCS4’s survey, 70% of respondents believe fan behavior is “much worse” (30%) or “somewhat worse” (40%) than five years ago. That “much worse” statistic is up 5% since 2022.
The most common ways fans create trouble at live sporting events, alcohol abuse and fights between patrons, are likely linked — with the former precipitating the latter. According to the survey, 94% of respondents said alcohol abuse was the most common form of inappropriate fan behavior, followed closely by “fights between patrons” (74%). “Violence against staff members” (28%) and “property damage” (26%) took a distant third and fourth, respectively.
This kind of behavior does not go unpunished. Consequences meted out at these venues included immediate ejections (31%), expulsions from future games (25%), loss of season tickets (20%) and fines (7%). Others included the loss of future ticket-buying privileges and potential arrest/prosecution.
Venue security directors offered a variety of crowd management strategies they currently implement, including signage, public address announcements, alcohol policy implementation, barriers, trained event staff and designated entry gates.
NCS4 recommends:
• Analyze hot spots for inappropriate fan behavior within the venue and deploy event security staff and resources accordingly.
• Clearly communicate policies such as the fan code of conduct and alcohol policy, ensuring that spectators understand the consequences of violations.
Tools of the trade
Various technologies and analytical tools are used at venues to prevent tragedy. The most common tools include two-way radios (96%), surveillance cameras (96%), access control and credentialing (94%), walk-through magnetometers (94%), social media monitoring (90%), public address systems (90%) and mobile ticketing apps (90%), which have been proven to reduce wait times at entry points.
Respondents, however, admitted that there was a limit to the technology that they were able to acquire, in part due to a lack of funding. The top technologies and analytical tools that would be purchased if additional funding were available includ facial recognition and validation/authentication tools, retractable bollards, video analytics and shooter detection systems.
These responses correlate with the least-used technologies/tools, indicating that venue security directors will deploy such technologies in the future when budgets permit. Conversely, the most sought after and deployed technologies are those designed to combat or address facility operators’ greatest concerns for spectator safety and security (i.e., active shooters, weapons, vehicle ramming).
Security staff are increasingly leveraging body cameras as a way of ensuring there is an accurate record of any incident that might occur at a venue. In NCS4’s separate 2023 Spectator Sports Safety and Security Survey of 400 professional and intercollegiate spectators, most (77%) said they feel comfortable with security personnel wearing the cameras.
Approximately 21% of respondents to the Venue Security Director Survey indicated that their security teams (with the exception of police officers) use body cameras, and 31% of respondents stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being implemented in security screening, surveillance or incident response technology, with 51% not fully understanding how AI can assist them in their security efforts.
NCS4 recommends:
• Explore the cost/benefit of investing in technologies such as facial recognition/validation/biometric systems, retractable bollards, video analytics and shooter detection systems.
• Consider increasing the number of security staff wearing body cameras.
• Explore educational resources and training regarding the use of artificial intelligence in safety and security.
Staffing challenges
One of the primary concerns for facility operators is ensuring a full staff that has been trained to deal with any unexpected incident. Approximately 94% of venues use contracted security staff in some capacity for event days. However, 36% of venues rely entirely on third-party security services to provide coverage on game days. Over 75% of venues hire the majority of their security staff from third-party vendors.
Close to three-fourths of venues have experienced staff shortages within the last two years, with the top three reasons for staff shortages including no-shows (74%), non-competitive wages (64%) and a lack of qualified applicants (59%). Other respondents cited budget constraints, lack of interest, inclement weather, interview no-shows, travel distance and other competing events.
The majority of venues (97%) have taken action to mitigate staff shortages, including increasing wages (79%), enhancing employee recognition (68%), complimentary food (39%) and parking proximity to the venue (32%). Other incentives noted were bonuses for specific events, discounted ticket prices, staff family events, complimentary merchandise and providing transportation to the facility. Meanwhile, some venues simply used technology to decrease the demand for staffing needs.
NCS4 recommends:
• Explore security staff recruitment and retention efforts (i.e., player meet/greet, parking proximity, staff recognition, complimentary food and merchandise, employee discounts, professional development opportunities, etc.)
• Ensure event staff (full-time and contracted) are trained in basic security, medical response and crowd management strategies (including de-escalation techniques).
• Venue training programs should consider multiple training methods to address all learning styles to assist staff with knowledge, skills and ability development for application in the field.
These are just a few of the highlights of NCS4’s 2024 Venue Security Director Survey. For the complete report, which includes additional resources and a more in-depth analysis of the survey’s results, visit: https://ncs4.usm.edu/research/industry-reports
