FIELD SCIENCE
12 SportsTurf | October 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com
FACILITY & OPERATIONS
M
illions of people attend sporting events each
year. The last thought on their minds is how
to react to a crisis or disaster while at the event.
Implementing an in-depth disaster plan with the
inclusion of social media is one of the best ways to
ensure the fans are kept safe and informed.
More than 17 million fans attended NFL games in the 2014
season. With each team averaging 68,321 fans per game, what
can they do to ensure their safety in the event of a crisis or
disaster, either manmade or natural?
DRAFT A PLAN
The first step to creating a safe environment is to develop an in-
depth disaster plan. The purpose of the plan is to protect your
fans. Keeping them safe and informed is priority number one.
Remembering this while developing your plan will help you
target and understand areas of need.
Every plan should focus on:
Crisis Planning Team. The team will consist of individuals
from all departments at the venue. Obvious choices include
your security team, but also employees from administration,
food service, merchandising, and IT. This will allow you to have
the entire spectrum of the venue covered, and you will gain a
better understanding of important issues you might face dur-
ing a crisis.
Risk Assessment. This is where you will identify and assess
specific potential threats or crises to your particular sporting
event or venue. The goal of the assessment is to lessen the risk
of the crisis by adding precautions. The exercise also ranks the
crises in order of likelihood.
Disaster Plan. Once the potential risks are identified, you
can now develop a plan. While each plan will be similar in some
areas, they will be different as they pertain to each crisis, eg,
tornado versus active shooter. All staff should understand their
HOW TO KEEP FANS SAFE AND
INFORMED AT SPORTING EVENTS
■ BY VIVIAN MARINELLI, PSYD
