How can stadiums use technology to keep themselves more safe and secure? STR talks to NCS4 executive director Stacey Hall, and Daniel Ward, director of training and exercise, about how the NCS4 came to be and what its role is going forward in the ever-more critical space of safety and security for large public spaces.
While the return of fans to full venues is generally seen as a good thing, the resumption of events has also seen the rise of some unintended and unwanted consequences, mainly in the areas of venue safety and security. Venue owners and operators have seen a noticeable rise in uncivil behavior by crowds, caused perhaps in part by tensions created by new processes for things like entry and security — which can be doubly troubling when combined atop a general post-Covid stress that still is a worldwide thing.
Luckily for venues, there exists an entity that is designed to help stadium operators learn about, and deploy, the latest in safety and security technology and best practices. The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security — known best by its acronym, NCS4 — is an incredible resource for large venue operators, with FEMA-certified classes and other e-learning tools addressing topics like crisis and evacuation procedures, as well as reviews on some of the latest stadium security technologies. Listen in as we talk to NCS4 executive director Stacey Hall, and Daniel Ward, director of training and exercise, about how the NCS4 came to be and what its role is going forward in the ever-more critical space of safety and security for large public spaces.
Training, education and research
Since its inception in 2006, the NCS4 has been built to support stadiums in their stadium security and safety efforts through “training, education and research,” said Hall. An initial request for support has since grown into an organization that has no fewer than seven FEMA-approved courses, and an expanded e-learning center to help bring information to where it’s needed — to the stadium implementors.
Hall said that the NCS4’s yearly conference of 500-plus stadium professionals and a sold-out exhibit hall is just one place where the necessary knowledge-sharing takes place.
“When we can get everyone together that only helps feed into best practices,” Hall said.
Ward, who oversees NCS4’s training and e-learning operations, agrees that while such information has always been important, it has gotten even more critical as venues respond to the new challenges presented by the Covid pandemic and the return of fans to venues in its aftermath of closures and new procedures.
Fans more uncivil than ever?
One interesting data point from the NCS4’s most-recent survey of stadium security professionals was an overwhelming agreement from responders that fans have become much less civil of late, which leads to new or heightened security and safety issues. Fights between event attendees, and a lower willingness to comply with safety and security procedures seems to be widespread.
“It’s somewhat baffling,” said Hall. “I’m not sure if people forgot how to act in public.”
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Technology, both Hall and Ward, can help with such issues by shortening lines.
“People get disgruntled if they have to wait in long lines,” Hall noted. “And they do not want to hear for the first time that things have changed when they get to an event.”
Try it before you buy it
One of the more unique services offered by the NCS4 is its reviews of new security and safety technology, like the new walk-through security scanners.
“It’s an opportunity for vendors to demonstrate capabilities, in either a live or simulated situation,” Ward said. He added that venues should take advantage of trial periods for new technologies, to make sure the gear is a fit for both the area and usage a venue wants.
“You have to know if it’s feasible, and if it fills what [a venue’s] needs are,” Ward said. And while the NCS4’s reviews are a good starting point for discussion, he added that “every venue should take the time to do their own due diligence.”
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