When the Mercedez-Benz Stadium was being built, leadership at AMB Sports & Entertainment decided to aim high when it comes to the quality of experience for fans attending events and games there. One key factor to becoming an “elite” venue, says Joe Coomer, CSSP, Vice President, Security, AMB Sports & Entertainment, was the game day associates – including parking attendants, ushers, beer vendors, the popcorn guy and, of course, the security staff.

“For us, a game day activity is no small matter,” says James (Jimmy) Johnson, Assistant Vice President for Campus Safety at the University of Texas at Austin.

No kidding – Longhorn football games regularly sell out, hosting more than 100,000 fans in the Darrel K Royal (DKR)-Texas Memorial Stadium, not counting the small army of vendors, staff, security personnel and law enforcement that keep operations running smoothly.

Six outstanding professionals will be recognized for their leadership in addressing safety and security issues as part of the 2018 National Sports Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition, this week in Louisville, KY.

The security industry’s calendar seems to revolve around a few key events: ISC West, ASIS International’s Global Security Exchange (GSX), ISC East… But have you ever considered how much effort goes into securing tradeshows and other large-scale events?

“The country’s come quite a long way. Fans now expect security, and it made me feel good that I could take my wife and daughter to a baseball game, spend a couple hundred dollars, and feel safe about it,” says Adam Stockwell, Vice President of Security for the Milwaukee Bucks.

CenturyLink Field, home of the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks and Major League Soccer’s Sounders FC, has received SAFETY Act Designation and Certification, the highest level of accreditation awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Chicago lawmakers are attempting to amend the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act to permit law enforcement to fly surveillance drones over “large scale events” in Chicago. The bill references festivals and concerts, but ACLU Illinois says the amendment could empower police to fly drones over political protests and rallies.