Between IAVM’s Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS), GuestX, and SevereWeather Preparedness (currently underway), and the safety and security session at Pollstar, venue managers and security professionals have recently shared a tremendous amount of insight and resources with one another.

The Pollstar panel, moderated by Eric Colby (AVSS faculty), featuring Lee Zeidman (STAPLES Center, Microsoft Theater, L.A. Live); Jim Mercurio (Levi’s Stadium); Captain Phil Cooke (Super Bowl 50, Santa Clara Police Department); and Cory Meredith (Staff Pro), explored lessons learned and smart practices shaped by recent incidents affecting the safety and security landscape.

Fresh off of Super Bowl 50, Mercurio and Cooke described an operation of massive proportions, including 15,000-plus credentialed staff and crew, 200 magnetometers, and more than 1,000 calls for service (janitorial, medical, etc.) during the game. To supplement the onsite operations, a situation room monitored everything from area traffic to social media content and global events (social media tracking led to preventing a few attempts by guests to access the field).

The relationship between visible and invisible security was a significant point of discussion during the session, and monitoring social media content associated with an event is one example that was shared of the emerging ways that venue teams are supplementing traditional frontline security. Having visible police with a sidearm remains an important deterrent, but as the panel discussed, an invisible layer of security and support behind them is an important aspect of modern security.

Three Ways to Improve Your Venue Safety and Security

During the session, Zeidman shared three very accessible ways that every venue manager can improve their safety and security.

1. Foster Great Relationships With Law Enforcement

“We host training sessions in our venues, have weekly meetings to cover upcoming events, and share extra tickets to games and events with the police and fire departments whenever we can,” Zeidman said.

2. Table Top Exercises

At Zeidman’s venues, issues such as earthquakes, bomb threats, and active attacker scenarios are worked into staff exercises that engage all staff positions—with Zeidman emphasizing all staff.

Similarly, at AVSS and GuestX this week, all attendees participated in IAVM’s American Airlines Center Experience. Developed by Paul Turner, CFE, CSSP (AT&T Stadium) and Ed Klima (Dover International Speedway), the event included a table top exercise for more than 200 attendees—immersing several small groups into focused discussions on managing various aspects of a large rigging accident occurring during a concert.

“The exercise enabled the entire group to collaborate on multiple aspects of a very plausible scenario,” Turner said, “And it equipped everyone with a great example of how to coordinate training exercises with their own teams back home.”

3. Improving Visibility

Following the Paris attacks, Zeidman shared that he expanded the use of K9 Units to include public areas around the venue instead of primarily focusing on vehicle searches in private areas. Improving visibility, and doing so consistently, is very important to Zeidman, regardless of the type of event or the makeup of the crowd attending.

“People want to see a show of force because they want to feel comfortable and safe,” Zeidman said. “And it shouldn’t change because the event changes. I’m not going to be the one who allowed something to happen at a certain event because we downplayed a security plan.”

As both the session at Pollstar, and the sellout crowd at AVSS show, venue safety and security is demanding more attention and training than ever, and will undoubtedly continue to draw us together for new thinking and ongoing collaboration to ensure a vibrant, safe, and secure future.

For event attendees no longer amused by dinner conversation, there’s a new development that may attract their attention: the musical tablecloth.

“The tablecloth is woven with conductive fibers and embedded with sensors. The on/off switch? Human touch,” Rob Gruber reported for Reuters Video.

Please watch the video above to learn more. Do you think this is something that attendees would like at events in your venues? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

The San Diego Chargers organization wants to locate its new stadium in downtown San Diego as part of a multi-use facility and convention center expansion plan.

“The multi-use facility, when combined with Petco Park, the existing convention center, the Gaslamp Quarter, and a revitalized East Village, would create an unparalleled entertainment and sports district that will host Super Bowls and will ideally be a permanent home for Comic-Con and a Comic-Con museum,” the organization said in a statement. “All of our research demonstrates that voters are more likely to approve a multi-use facility that would generate economic activity on hundreds of days per year, including by attracting major sporting and convention events that San Diego cannot now host. The downtown multi-use facility would also free up the existing Mission Valley site for potential use by educational institutions such as San Diego State and UCSD, as well as for a large riverfront park.”

The next step is a collaboration with a citizen’s coalition and voter approval in November 2016.

“We believe that a downtown multi-use facility will attract broad support from throughout our entire community,” the Chargers said in a statement. “And we hope that, as our downtown proposal is developed and as the campaign for passage begins, those who have supported the Mission Valley site will keep an open mind and consider supporting what we believe is the best way to secure a permanent home for the Chargers in San Diego.”

(Image: Facebook)

BMO and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) have announced a 10-year renewal of the bank’s naming rights sponsorship of BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.

“Today’s long-term naming rights renewal with BMO is symbolic as construction progresses on BMO Field to provide a world-class stadium experience for Toronto FC and its fans, for the Toronto Argonauts as they move to a classic Canadian outdoor football environment, and for the City of Toronto,” said David Hopkinson, chief commercial officer at MLSE, in a statement. “BMO is a partner that has been with Toronto FC, and the stadium, since day one and plays an important, supportive role as we look forward to exciting things at BMO Field this season and in the years to come.”

BMO Field is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and will add the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) Toronto Argonauts as a tenant in summer 2016. A two-year stadium renovation project to be completed in May is currently in the second phase of construction that will see a canopy added to cover the east, west, and south grandstands as well as a new sound and lighting system and changes to accommodate a CFL field.

BMO will also extend its placement as the sponsor of the TFC kit for the 2016 season.

“BMO’s sports sponsorships celebrate bringing communities together and embody our company’s values of teamwork and dedication,” said Connie Stefankiewicz, chief marketing officer at BMO Financial Group, in a statement. “We are proud of our longstanding partnership with TFC and look forward to joining fans and our customers in another exciting season as we cheer on the team at the newly-renovated BMO Field.”

BMO Field’s first renovations saw the stadium expanded to 30,000 seats with a new second deck added to the east grandstands, new suites, private clubs, concession stands, and a new HD video board in the north end.

(Image: Paul Bica/Creative Commons)

In the world of associations, benefits offered make all the difference. C-level employees have different wants and needs than a young professional, and catering to both is no easy task. While upper management may have the luxury of expensing their memberships, many young professionals do not have such luxury and must really weigh the benefits of membership versus saving a few extra dollars. While IAVM offers many fantastic resources from industry conferences to online publications, for young professionals, there is no better benefit than the Mentor Connector Program.

When looking into becoming an IAVM member earlier this year, the Mentor Connector Program was the selling point for me. While it is great to go to VenueConnect, read industry publications, and discuss forum topics on VenueNet, none of those perks have as great a value as the ability to talk one-on-one with an industry veteran at least once a month asking any and all questions I may have. Sure young professionals have their supervisors and direct reports to help show them the ropes, but there is a different feeling when talking with a “mentor” versus talking with a supervisor. There is no pressure to impress the boss, no insecurity in admitting you don’t fully grasp a concept, and no feeling of annoyance from asking a plethora of questions. Mentees are encouraged to point out their weaknesses in order to turn them into strengths and ask the hard questions they might feel uncomfortable asking in another setting. Young professionals don’t know what they don’t know, and mentors are there to give that insight.

My advice to all young professionals or those on the fence about the Mentor Connector Program is to do it. Just do it. There is nothing to lose and all to gain. Some of the most successful people on the planet credit their achievements to a mentor, so why not you? Even if you think there is nothing more for you to learn, the Mentor Connector Program at its foundation is another way to strengthen your network in an industry that revolves around relationships. There are not many instances in life where a complete stranger volunteers time month after month to help better another complete stranger, so take advantage of it while you can so you don’t regret it later.