ABSTRACT
Security management systems are employed to reduce risk and exposure to sport facility vulnerabilities. A sport facility manager is expected to act in a reasonably prudent manner regarding the safety and security of their sport facility; this includes: (1) keeping the venue in safe repair, (2) inspecting the venue to discover hazards, (3) removing hazards or warning of their presence, (4) protecting patrons from foreseeable dangers, and (5) conducting facility operations with reasonable care for the safety of all. Sport facility managers reduce liability exposure by successfully managing risks and foreseeable actions that lead to injuries. Several legal issues related to event security management include inadequate security, negligent employment practices, and handling disturbances, ejections, and arrests. Security management requires the coordination and collaboration of many individuals, government agencies, and private contractors. Figure 15.1 illustrates the multiple stakeholders involved in providing a safe and secure sporting environment. Sport organizations should designate a security director to oversee security operations and coordinate security efforts with stakeholders. The security director forms a leadership (planning) team with representatives from the stakeholder groups, known as a sport event security action team (SESAT). The sport facility manager, owner, or operator is normally responsible for the safety and security management of events. However, they may rely upon other agencies, locally and regionally, in the case of a major incident. Regardless of the type and criticality of an incident, the sport organization should have established a working relationship with external agencies as noted in Figure 15.1. Multi-agency collaboration ensures effective planning, response, and recovery efforts. Planning is a critical component to the overall security management system. In order to effectively plan, the sport facility manager must first identify facility risks, threats, and vulnerabilities. Addressing specific threats ensures appropriate planning measures are implemented, such as relevant policies, procedures, and security measures. To reduce risk, the sport facility manager should develop a list of essential venue safety and security policies, i.e. alcohol policy, fan conduct policy, search policy. A sport facility emergency response plan should be developed with annexes for game day operations, evacuation procedures, incident response, and business continuity and recovery. A game day operations plan provides the general administrative, operational, and security strategies for game day. A game day operations plan may include the following items:
■ Ticketing policies ■ Ticket samples ■ Seating policies ■ Radio communications ■ TV broadcast information
■ Stadium staff directory ■ Gate designations ■ Parking information ■ Parking maps ■ Parking pass samples ■ Traffic flow information ■ Credential samples ■ Tailgating policies ■ Severe weather plans ■ General information policies, i.e. admission, prohibited behavior/items,
alcohol, camera, first aid, disability accommodations, guest services, lost and found.
