This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • Home
  • News
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies
    • Security Blog
    • Newsletter
    • Web Exclusives
  • Columns
    • Career Intelligence
    • Security Talk
    • The Corner Office
    • Leadership & Management
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Overseas and Secure
    • The Risk Matrix
  • Management
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • More
  • Physical
    • Access Management
    • Video Surveillance
    • Identity Management
    • More
  • Cyber
  • Sectors
    • Education: University
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • More
  • Exclusives
    • Security 500 Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • The Security Leadership Issue
    • Annual Innovations, Technology, & Services Report
  • Events
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
    • Security 500 West
  • Resources
    • The Magazine
      • This Month's Issue
      • Digital Edition
      • Archives
      • Professional Security Canada
    • Videos
      • ISC West 2019
    • Photo Galleries
    • Polls
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • White Papers
    • Mobile App
    • Store
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Continuing Education
  • InfoCenters
    • Break-in Prevention
    • Building AppSec in Enterprises
    • Video Management Systems
  • Contact
    • Editorial Guidelines
  • Advertise
Home » Security in the Outfield
Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / EntertainmentSecurity Enterprise ServicesManagementPhysicalPhysical SecurityVideo Surveillance

Security in the Outfield

At Citi Field in New York City, Technology and Personnel Team Up for Threat Detection

Day of Game Command Center, Citi Field

The new Day of Game Command Room overlooking Citi Field helps John McKay, Executive Director of Security for the Mets and Citi Field, and Sara Bollock, Director of Ballpark Operations, maintain situational awareness during baseball games, concerts and other events at the ballpark. 

Citi Field, home of the Mets

Eleven video surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition check fans against a blacklist of banned visitors as they enter Citi Field through the rotunda. 

Citi Field interior

At Citi Field in New York City, various stakeholders (including concessions, law enforcement, EMS and ballpark operations) team up with security to ensure everyone is on the same page on game day. 

Day of Game Command Center, Citi Field
Citi Field, home of the Mets
Citi Field interior
August 30, 2018
KEYWORDS facial recognition / security management system / security risk management / sports security / Stadium Security
Reprints
No Comments

As fans begin to trickle into Citi Field in New York City, home of the Mets, a room behind center field is already on full alert, monitoring for potential risks that could affect fans, players, employees and property.

The Day of Game Command Center is fully staffed on game days with representatives from emergency medical services, the NYPD, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), the parking company, the concessions company, ballpark operations, and the security supervisor and security interns. Together, they overlook the field, monitoring and communicating regularly throughout the game. But the process of game day security begins long before the gates open.

Every game day at 3:30, these stakeholders meet to go over the plan of the day – including what promotions are going on and whether any VIPs are attending – and that intelligence is passed down to the main force of ballpark employees.

From there, security blends both personnel and technology to secure fans and players during the game. Facial recognition technology is deployed through 11 cameras at the main fan entrance, and faces are checked against a blacklist. If the camera detects a “Do Not Admit” – someone who has been arrested onsite before for fighting, larceny or assault, for example, and banned from future Citi Field events – the security operator calls down to the officer at the entrance to approach the person, ask for his or her ID, and if they match the blacklisted person, the matter is handed over to the NYPD as a trespassing violation.

Operators in the Day of Game Command Center are also monitoring social media using Babel Street, checking for tweets or posts from within a geo-fence around the Field. While many users have become more cautious about posting potential malicious activity over social media – either staying quiet or moving their accounts to “private” – this monitoring still helps security stay aware of potential field invasions or runners, and it helps when it comes to guest services, says Sara Bollock, Director of Ballpark Operations.

Fans might tweet directly to the Mets when there’s a rowdy or intoxicated fan in their section, or if there’s a maintenance issue. Monitoring social media through the Command Center allows operators to catch those issues more quickly, respond to the fan in question, and deploy appropriate resources.

“We can’t control fan behavior, but we can monitor fan behavior and put resources on it before something happens,” says John McKay, Executive Director of Security for the Mets and Citi Field, which is SAFETY Act Certified.

The Citi Field team practices for emergencies and other events through tabletop exercises and full-scale exercises, partnering with FEMA and FDNY to run through a variety of eventualities, such as evacuations and drone attacks.

The Day of Game Command Center also monitors the field’s 187 surveillance cameras and 115 doors and card readers through the Genetec Command Center platform. Previously, the security system had separate access and video management platforms, which handicaps security when a speedy response is needed, Bollock says.

In addition, the Genetec system is integrated with Live Earth, which forms an interactive map of the ballpark and its surrounding area that combines traffic information, camera locations and more, giving operators a more comprehensive, intuitive view of the scene.

The system also includes weather patterns and sends weather alerts, and it can show delays on public transit such as subways.

If a subway line is delayed before a game, for example, Citi Field staff can change its staffing plan at entrances to be prepared for a late rush of fans once the trains get back up and running. After a game, if a line is blocked, announcements could be made to let fans know to take their time leaving, so the subway platforms next to the stadium don’t get overcrowded as people wait for trains.

Subscribe to Security Magazine

Related Articles

Balancing Security and the Fan Experience in Sports Security

Security Rises to the Challenge in Daytona Rising Project

Related Events

Drones and Surveillance at MetLife Stadium

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

cybersecurity breach

The Top 12 Data Breaches of 2019

ransomware-enews

British American Tobacco Suffers Data Breach and Ransomware Attack

Dispelling the Dangerous Myth of Data Breach Fatigue; cyber security news

Major Retailer Macy's Is Hacked

server room, cybersecurity, penetration testing,

Explained: Firewalls, Vulnerability Scans and Penetration Tests

cyber network

How to Achieve Cybersecurity with Patience, Love and Bribery

SEC2019_Everbridge_1119_360x184customcontent

Events

December 17, 2019

Conducting a Workplace Violence Threat Analysis and Developing a Response Plan

There are few situations a security professional will face that is more serious than a potential workplace violence threat. Every security professional knows and understands that all employers have a legal, ethical and moral duty to take reasonable steps to prevent and respond to threats of violence in their workplace.
January 23, 2020

The Value of a Unified Approach to Critical Event Management

From extreme weather to cyberattacks to workplace violence, every organization will experience at least one, if not multiple, critical events per year. And in today’s interconnected digital and physical world, the cascading safety, brand, and revenue impacts of critical events are more severe.
View All Submit An Event

Poll

Emergency Communications

What does your enterprise use to communicate emergencies to company employees?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Effective Security Management, 6th Edition

Effective Security Management, 6th Edition

 Effective Security Management, 5e, teaches practicing security professionals how to build their careers by mastering the fundamentals of good management. Charles Sennewald brings a time-tested blend of common sense, wisdom, and humor to this bestselling introduction to workplace dynamics. 

See More Products
SEC500_250x180 clear

Security Magazine

SEC-December-2019-Cover_144px

2019 December

This month, Security magazine brings you the 2019 Guarding Report, featuring David Komendat, Boeing CSO, and many other public safety leaders to discuss threats and solutions for 2020 and security officer training. Also, we highlight Hector Rodriguez, Director of Public Safety and Security at Marymount California University, CCPA regulations, NIST standards, VMS and much more.

View More Create Account
  • More
    • Market Research
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • Security Group
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Privacy Policy
    • Survey And Sample
  • Want More
    • Subscribe
    • Connect
    • Partners

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing