Following the Las Vegas shooting – the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history – new concerns emerge regarding the security programs required to protect fans, performers, and staff at open-air sports and entertainment venues.
The University of Southern Mississippi’s National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) had opened its Sport Security Research, Training and Operations Center at the National Sport Security Laboratory (NSSL) for addressing sport safety and security risks and threats.
Sports venues for many years have been on the lookout for weapons like guns and knives at their entrance ways, and it would probably be very difficult for a bad actor to enter a stadium with a nuclear warhead.
The subject of security at sports venues usually revolves around traditional violence-related concerns like terrorism, active shooter or possibly drunken and rowdy fans getting into brawls.
The terrorist incident at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, United Kingdom, in May raised new questions of how arenas that house sporting events and other types of attractions such as concerts can ensure fan safety.
The Daytona International Speedway recently underwent a complete transformation, evolving from a grandstand to the world’s only motorsports stadium. The $400 million renovation, which began in 2013 and was completed in 2016, changed everything about the iconic speedway, from the fan experience to the operational logistics to the facility’s security needs.
Even though he grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, working for the Green Bay Packers certainly wasn’t anything Doug Collins thought about doing as a child.
