SoFi Stadium recently named Evolv Technology as its “Official Weapons Detection Screening Systems Provider,” perhaps the highest-profile deal yet for Evolv, a startup provider of walk-through weapons detection systems.
Though the multi-year deal was officially announced on Nov. 17, SoFi Stadium and the adjoining YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif., have actually been using Evolv’s Express systems since the start of the 2022 NFL football season, according to Otto Benedict, senior vice president, facility and campus operations at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. SoFi Stadium, the new home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, is one of the most active large venues in the country, and will be hosting the College Football Playoff national championship game between TCU and Georgia on Jan. 9. With a football capacity of 70,000 that can expand to more than 100,000 for events like concerts where the field can be used for floor seating, SoFi Stadium has perhaps one of the more complex entry-operations needs around.
If you’ve not yet seen any of the next-generation walk-through security scanners in use, it probably won’t be long before they become the standard at most large venues. Evolv, based in Waltham, Mass., has been deployed in a number of high-profile professional sports venues over the past two years, including at other NFL stadiums like Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, First Energy Stadium in Cleveland, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and Nissan Stadium in Nashville, as well as at other high-profile stadiums, including Wrigley Field in Chicago and PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
While other players in the new market, including startup Xtract One and longtime metal-detector provider CEIA, are also winning stadium deals, Evolv’s Express systems with their ability to allow multiple fans to pass through at the same time seem to be increasing in popularity, especially at larger, NFL-type venues. While not all venues may see Evolv’s claimed throughput (the company’s website claims each scanner can scan “4,000+ fans per hour”) due to differences in deployment methods, according to Benedict the Express systems provide far faster fan scanning than the old-style metal detectors.
“The throughput [with the Evolv systems] far exceeds what is possible with traditional mags [magnometers],” Benedict said in a recent phone interview. “This has really been the perfect solution for us.”
Bigger crowds, different entry flows
(Editor’s note: Listen to our podcast with Evolv co-founder Mike Ellenbogen.)
As all venues started to re-open to full houses in 2021 after the Covid pandemic’s effects diminished, many found that the instant switch to all-digital ticketing and a new crowd tension about lines caused some previously unseen issues with stadium entry. SoFi Stadium, which was just admitting fans for the first time, experienced some entry-crowding issues created in part by its initial use of traditional metal-detector scanners and a requirement for proof of Covid vaccinations. At one episode before a concert by the Korean K-pop band BTS, large backups formed as many fans tried to enter at the same time.
But according to SoFi’s Benedict, the venue was already in the process of vetting new walk-through technology, from all the leading providers. While some of the providers proved hard to get answers from, Evolv, Bendict said, “was an open book,” revealing as many details as possible. At Super Bowl LVI, held at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13, 2022, Benedict said Evolv systems were already in use in small trials around the stadium, providing security screening at events like an NFL owners’ party.
“It really was the solution we needed,” said Benedict, who said SoFi Stadium then pivoted to put Evolv Express systems into full use by the start of the 2022 NFL season. According to Benedict the stadium replaced approximately 100 traditional metal-detector scanners with 26 Evolv Express systems, which he said improved operations and the fan experience at the same time.
“We now have a smaller [security] footprint which is more efficient and aligns with the way we do ticketing,” Benedict said. Like other venues that have deployed Evolv systems, SoFi Stadium flipped its former entry-flow setup of security first, ticketing second to ticketing first, followed by security.
“If you do ticketing second, you just create another line,” Benedict said.
The Evolv systems also allowed the venue to repurpose some of its entry-gate staffers to other positions, a big plus in an era where stadium staffing overall is a huge challenge.
“We now have more staffers as greeters and wayfinding helpers,” Benedict said. “That really improves the fan experience.”
Training staff and fans
While the new walk-through scanning devices do seem to offer significant improvements on flow, they also do require a higher level of training, both for staff and for first experiences, for fans. At stadiums we’ve been to, many fans still aren’t sure of what to do at the new gates, with many raising their hands or looking for someone to hand keys and phones to.
John Baier, vice president for sports at Evolv, said the company helps venues with communications for fans, including offering stock signage with instructions on how to interact with the new systems.
“Some venues do great work with signage, offering fans a lot of know-before-you-go type information,” said Baier in a recent phone interview.
Like at other venues where Evolv systems have been deployed, Baier said the company reps were working closely with the SoFi Stadium staff beforehand, helping figure out the deployment strategy as well as to train staff “and train the trainers,” he said. “Our team works hand in hand with venues,” he added, also saying that Evolv staff is usually on hand for the first few events to provide feedback and to help fine-tune the new operation.
According to SoFi’s Benedict, after a few initial encounters fans seem to quickly get the hang of the new scanners and end up being huge proponents of the process.
“We did get some early perceptions [from fans] that the process might be too easy,” Benedict said. “But now the customers seem to have really embraced it. We’re getting tremendous feedback.”
The stadium also gets good feedback from the systems themselves, Benedict said, saying the analytics provided by the Evolv systems help SoFi Stadium fine-tune the devices for different types of crowds.
“We now know how to prepare [the scanners] for different kinds of events, like a heavy metal concert where more fans might have things like chain wallets and studded boots,” Benedict said. “We’re able to make better decisions.”
Listen to our podcast with Evolv co-founder Mike Ellenbogen:
