Security Magazine logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • MANAGEMENT
  • PHYSICAL
  • CYBER
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • SECTORS
  • EVENTS
  • MEDIA
  • MORE
  • EMAG
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Security Newswire
  • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
  • Leadership Management
  • Enterprise Services
  • Security Education & Training
  • Logical Security
  • Security & Business Resilience
  • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
  • Access Management
  • Fire & Life Safety
  • Identity Management
  • Physical Security
  • Video Surveillance
  • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
  • Cybersecurity News
  • More
  • COLUMNS
  • Cyber Tactics
  • Leadership & Management
  • Security Talk
  • Career Intelligence
  • Leader to Leader
  • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Annual Guarding Report
  • Most Influential People in Security
  • The Security Benchmark Report
  • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
  • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
  • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
  • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
  • Banking/Finance/Insurance
  • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
  • Education: K-12
  • Education: University
  • Government: Federal, State and Local
  • Hospitality & Casinos
  • Hospitals & Medical Centers
  • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
  • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
  • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
  • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
  • Industry Events
  • Webinars
  • Solutions by Sector
  • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Polls
  • Photo Galleries
  • Videos
  • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
  • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
  • MORE
  • Call for Entries
  • Classifieds & Job Listings
  • Continuing Education
  • Newsletter
  • Sponsor Insights
  • Store
  • White Papers
  • EMAG
  • eMagazine
  • This Month's Content
  • Advertise
Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Security Leadership and ManagementArenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment

Training for Better Sports Security: See Something, Say Something, Do Something

Sports security leaps forward with proactive game day training and information-sharing.

By Claire Meyer
SEC 0718 cover feature

“Achieving good situational awareness around STAPLES Center requires a combination of technology, personnel, training, collaboration and teamwork,” says David Born, Senior Director of Security at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
Photos courtesy of STAPLES Center

FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland

At FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, “We use technology as an investigative and preventative tool,” as security personnel can detect a fight in the stands more quickly with surveillance cameras and respond promptly before it escalates, says Troy Brown, Vice President of Stadium Operations for the Cleveland Browns. 

Photos courtesy of the Cleveland Browns

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

According to Joe Coomer, CSSP, Vice President, Security for AMB Sports & Entertainment, which manages Mercedes-Benz Stadium: “We have weekly meetings with all of our partners, and we review the history of each event coming in – timing, logistics, ejections, arrests, trends that we saw – and then weather events or other factors nearby in play in close proximity in downtown Atlanta.”

Photos courtesy of AMB Sports & Entertainment

Darrell K Royal (DKR)-Texas Memorial Stadium

With more than 100,000 fans regularly attending games at the Darrell K Royal (DKR)-Texas Memorial Stadium, the University of Texas at Austin relies on regular training, close public-private partnerships and constant communication to secure events.

Photo courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin

Cathy Lanier, Chief Security Officer for the National Football League (NFL)

“Our fans definitely want to feel safe, they want to see security, but they definitely don’t want to be inconvenienced,” says Cathy Lanier, Chief Security Officer for the National Football League (NFL).

Photo courtesy of Cathy Lanier

SEC 0718 cover feature
FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Darrell K Royal (DKR)-Texas Memorial Stadium
Cathy Lanier, Chief Security Officer for the National Football League (NFL)
July 1, 2018

Passing through a magnetometer checkpoint with his family at a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game, Adam Stockwell – then an agent with the U.S. Secret Service – was struck by how positive staff were at the security checkpoint and what a pleasant experience they made for fans out of a security screening.

“The country’s come quite a long way. Fans now expect security, and it made me feel good that I could take my wife and daughter to a baseball game, spend a couple hundred dollars, and feel safe about it,” says Stockwell, who is now Vice President of Security for the Milwaukee Bucks. In his new role, he applies that same philosophy of making security screening a positive part of the spectator sport experience: security personnel get customer service training from guest services staff, and he is working closely with developers who are constructing the Bucks’ new home – the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center and its surrounding 30-acre district – to ensure visitor-friendly security is built in.

“Every member of our team has a responsibility for security and for customer service,” Stockwell says.

“Our fans definitely want to feel safe, they want to see security, but they definitely don’t want to be inconvenienced,” says Cathy Lanier, Chief Security Officer for the National Football League (NFL). In an effort to keep connected with fans, Lanier and her team created a Guest Services Information Sharing Group earlier this year, which will share information back to the League and to other NFL venues about what fans are saying about security, different pain points and suggestions.

“At the guest services level, they’ll feel and see and hear those pressures (from fans) before we will,” Lanier adds.

Lanier has also added layers of information sharing with stadium security directors and team security directors, forming two new committees that discuss and revise new NFL security standards, evaluate recent incidents and events and share their insights from the ground. After sending best practices updates through the stadium security committee, for example, 20 to 30 percent of the initial concept ends up changing due to input from stadium security professionals. “We start with the idea of ‘here are the challenges, and here our thoughts on these challenges’ and then after several rounds of communication, we land on something that everyone agrees is effective and doable,” Lanier says.

Jim Mercurio, Vice President of Stadium Operations and General Manager of Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, is a member of the NFL Stadium Security Committee. After 9/11 he created an emergency evacuation video that could be shown to fans before games, and through the NFL, he was able to share his concept with other venues on video boards. He can also glean techniques and tools from other security leaders. One good example is from Mercurio’s respected colleague Roy Sommerhof, Senior VP of Stadium Operations for the Baltimore Ravens, who uses 30 to 90-second vignettes for pre-shift training refreshers on topics like magnetometer use or guest services initiatives; that practice was adopted throughout many NFL teams.

“We recognize that security is not an area where we should be competitive. Let’s leave the competition to the football players on the field, and let’s share best practices and create best standards for when we have our customers in our buildings,” he says.

Sharing information between venues and between clubs has proven invaluable for many sporting event security professionals, including Troy Brown, Vice President of Stadium Operations for the Cleveland Browns.

“In Cleveland, we do an amazing job of coming together as a team, not drawing any boundaries, and working together as a whole. It’s very effective. We cross-train with the Cavaliers, we cross-train with the Indians, we hold joint tabletop exercises and attend each other’s training, we go to downtown hotels’ tabletop exercises and they come to ours. It’s a tight-knit community, all communicating effectively, all following similar procedures, and if something were to happen, we could notify each other quickly,” Brown says.

The beauty of the cross-training is the variety of experiences that Brown and his team can accumulate. Each event is different; the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force might set up a food-borne illness exercise with the Cavaliers, a vehicle attack tabletop with a downtown hotel, or an active shooter training incident with the Indians, and Brown’s team would be able to sit in on all three, participating when needed, all while fostering a closer, more effective working relationship with the other stakeholders at the table, such as the FBI, the local Fusion Center, law enforcement and other first responders.

“People come to our games to be entertained. The NFL is an all-day experience, starting early in the morning with tailgating,” Brown says. “Fans’ concerns are: I want to have fun, I want to blow off steam from the workweek, I want to root for my favorite team... Their focus is more on their experience; our focus is making sure that experience is safe. It’s one of those things where fans will only tolerate so much, so you have to add security in a way that balances with the fan experience. The consistency between our venues helps fans – going to one of our games is not all that different from going to a Cavs or an Indians game; fans aren’t having to change their security habits to come to one of our events.”

In Atlanta, the new Mercedez-Benz Stadium (home of the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United Football Club) is situated right in the heart of downtown, so events at other venues nearby – including the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Aquarium or the World of Coca-Cola – could easily impact operations at the stadium.

According to Joe Coomer, CSSP, Vice President, Security, AMB Sports & Entertainment, “We have weekly meetings with all of our partners, and we review the history of each event coming in – timing, logistics, ejections, arrests, trends that we saw – and then weather events or other factors nearby in play in close proximity in downtown Atlanta.” Coomer also partners with a number of stakeholders throughout the city and the downtown campus to handle logistics during events, such as parking, mass transit capacity and resource sharing. “We’ve had events happen within the downtown campus – a building evacuation in one venue triggers crisis communications and puts us all on alert so we can respond proactively.”

By partnering with other enterprises and landmarks in the nearby area, security leaders can essentially extend their perimeters of situational awareness further out into the city. At STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Senior Director of Security David Born maintains close relationships with all entities in the L.A. LIVE campus, as well as neighbors like the Los Angeles Convention Center, Microsoft Theater, JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles and other venues, as well as local and national law enforcement partners.

“We have a Campus Security Meeting on a monthly basis, and we get all of these entities together and we talk about our campus events that are taking place and any type of security issues or concerns that we have,” Born says. “This maintains the open lines of communication, so if there’s an issue at L.A. LIVE, that information will be communicated to us.

“We invest a great deal of awareness training with our staff of what to look for. We also have increased our visual awareness on the exterior of the facility, with security cameras, additional police and security presence. We are in the midst of a multi-year camera upgrade project with Tyco to increase our situational awareness. Achieving good situational awareness around STAPLES Center requires a combination of technology, personnel, training, collaboration and teamwork,” he adds.

In Atlanta, Coomer is using surveillance technology to study crowd behavior and better evaluate potential threats and strategize for future games, “just like the football teams use cameras to record plays on the field,” he says.

For the Bucks, having a campus makes you think about security more holistically, says Stockwell. “It’s not just four walls,” he says. “We have a large plaza, which is a soft target 24/7/365, even outside of event days. We installed a bollard system around the whole campus and deployed extensive video surveillance with low-light capabilities, we’re debating semi-autonomous robotic patrols, and we regularly liaise with store owners within the campus, as well as law enforcement to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

In Cleveland, Brown worked with Johnson Controls to upgrade the stadium’s 90 analog cameras to more than 350 IP cameras from Axis Communications. “We use technology as an investigative and preventative tool,” he says, as security personnel can detect a fight in the stands more quickly with the cameras and respond promptly before it escalates, and they can also evaluate the events that happened right before the incident to determine an unbiased sequence of events.

Brown is also using technology to manage quality assurance, checking that there are no abandoned gates or staff leaving their posts. However, “while technology is a huge advantage, there’s nothing like human intelligence,” he says.

The training aspect in the event security space is a major one, for situational awareness, emergency management and customer service. For STAPLES Center, which has around 400 regular security team members, getting consistency is an ongoing effort. Training is provided not just in classroom settings, but by getting out into the field with mock scenarios set up around the building so security officers can practice and get feedback.

“Our supervisors run the training,” Born says. “They’re on the frontline, so they know how different situations will emerge and how we can respond. Supervisors are often involved in a security team member’s career from the interview process through training, so they have a close relationship with the team.”

At The University of Texas in Austin, a virtual army of people can participate in game day functions – upwards of 3,500, says Assistant Vice President for Campus Safety James Johnson. Longhorn football games regularly sell out, with more than 100,000 fans attending. While the university has a large support element with its fully-staffed emergency operations center (EOC) and 26 participating agencies, the success of operations depends on frontline staff, especially supervisors.

According to Johnson, training is done at various levels, including “just in time” training before games, attaching a card with emergency instructions to staff lanyards, an all-hands-on-deck meeting the week of each game, and supervisor training. For a severe weather incident, supervisors need to be able to evacuate their section of 2,000 fans to safety quickly, so the university holds a shelter and evacuation drill with them every summer.

“Maintaining communication between our partners and our team members creates a fluid concert of activities that enhance game day activities while reducing risk,” says Johnson.

At Levi’s Stadium, Jim Mercurio is pushing See Something, Say Something further. “Potential threats are always changing, and awareness starts with law enforcement, continues with security, and should always include food and beverage, guest services and engineers. It’s not just a security person’s job,” he says. “We’re promoting ‘See Something, Say Something, Do Something.’ If an engineer is in an environment every day, he’s more likely to find something out of place, so he can contact the command post, take pictures as evidence and take action to intervene. We never want to assume it’s nothing.”

One example of this was when a parking attendant noticed something out of place with a fan leaving the stadium. The attendant made the call to the command post, and security personnel were able to train cameras on that location and call in additional staff. While responders were in route, the fan collapsed and had a massive heart attack. “As a result of that training, knowledge, quick action and being aware, we were able to get resources to her, and she was able to be shocked back to life, and within minutes she was sitting up and talking with first responders,” Mercurio says. “Had we not had some of that training about awareness and being proactive, the outcome surely could have been different.”


KEYWORDS: counterterrorism Emergency Preparedness event security security awareness See Something, Say Something sports security

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Claire Meyer is a former Managing Editor for Security magazine.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Cybersecurity
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    Cybersecurity
    By: Charles Denyer
close

1 COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE(S) LEFT

Unlock the future of cybersecurity news with Security.
As a leader in enterprise security, we have you covered with the information to keep you ahead of the curve.

JOIN TODAY

Already Registered? Sign in now.

Manage My Account
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

Middle East Escalation, Humanitarian Law and Disinformation – Episode 25

Middle East Escalation, Humanitarian Law and Disinformation – Episode 25

Security’s Top 5 – 2024 Year in Review

Security’s Top 5 – 2024 Year in Review

The Money Laundering Machine: Inside the global crime epidemic - Episode 24

The Money Laundering Machine: Inside the global crime epidemic - Episode 24

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Sureview screen
    Sponsored bySureView Systems

    The Evolution of Automation in the Command Center

  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

Popular Stories

Rendered computer with keyboard

16B Login Credentials Exposed in World’s Largest Data Breach

Verizon on phone screen

61M Records Listed for Sale Online, Allegedly Belong to Verizon

Security’s 2025 Women in Security

Security’s 2025 Women in Security

Red spiderweb

From Retail to Insurance, Scattered Spider Changes Targets

blurry multicolored text on black screen

PowerSchool Education Technology Company Announces Data Breach

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

July 17, 2025

Tech in the Jungle: Leveraging Surveillance, Access Control, and Technology in Unique Environments

What do zebras, school groups and high-tech surveillance have in common? They're all part of a day’s work for the security team at the Toledo Zoo.

August 7, 2025

Threats to the Energy Sector: Implications for Corporate and National Security

The energy sector has found itself in the crosshairs of virtually every bad actor on the global stage.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products

Related Articles

  • Security Newswire

    "If You See Something, Say Something" Campaign Announced for Super Bowl XLV

    See More
  • It’s Time for CSOs to Spread the Word on Workplace Violence Prevention: If You See Something, Say Something

    See More
  • Security Newswire

    If You See Something, Say Something Campaign Expands to NBA

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • security culture.webp

    Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

  • 150 things.jpg

    The Handbook for School Safety and Security

  • Photonic-Sensing.gif

    Photonic Sensing: Principles and Applications for Safety and Security Monitoring

See More Products
×
“Achieving good situational awareness around STAPLES Center requires a combination of technology, personnel, training, collaboration and teamwork,” says David Born, Senior Director of Security at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Photos courtesy of STAPLES Center
At FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, “We use technology as an investigative and preventative tool,” as security personnel can detect a fight in the stands more quickly with surveillance cameras and respond promptly before it escalates, says Troy Brown, Vice President of Stadium Operations for the Cleveland Browns.  Photos courtesy of the Cleveland Browns
According to Joe Coomer, CSSP, Vice President, Security for AMB Sports & Entertainment, which manages Mercedes-Benz Stadium: “We have weekly meetings with all of our partners, and we review the history of each event coming in – timing, logistics, ejections, arrests, trends that we saw – and then weather events or other factors nearby in play in close proximity in downtown Atlanta.” Photos courtesy of AMB Sports & Entertainment
With more than 100,000 fans regularly attending games at the Darrell K Royal (DKR)-Texas Memorial Stadium, the University of Texas at Austin relies on regular training, close public-private partnerships and constant communication to secure events. Photo courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin
“Our fans definitely want to feel safe, they want to see security, but they definitely don’t want to be inconvenienced,” says Cathy Lanier, Chief Security Officer for the National Football League (NFL). Photo courtesy of Cathy Lanier

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!