Less than a month ago, a video posted on social media appeared to show a determined soccer supporter had climbed one of the stanchions above Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s halo board during an Atlanta United match.
Despite all of the security precautions, this person allegedly used subterfuge to gain access to a part of the stadium that ticket users shouldn’t have reached. Video of his climb was posted on social media sites. The man eventually climbed down. It was the first widely seen issue of breaching stadium security since the building, which has hosted hundreds of events, opened in 2017.
It also illustrated that no matter how many steps Mercedes-Benz Stadium officials have taken to ensure the safety of supporters — and it has taken dozens, from the installation of hundreds of cameras to security guards — one determined person can still cause a problem.
With the world’s attention turning to the Club World Cup this month, which will include six matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and next summer’s World Cup, which will feature eight matches here, stadium and local officials are putting in more efforts to ensure the safety of those in attendance.
“We would rather be overprepared than underprepared,” said Dietmar Exler, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment, which oversees Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The stadium has hosted numerous international soccer events, so it has protocols and procedures in place.
But it hasn’t hosted a tournament like the Club World Cup, which features 32 teams from around the world playing for a $1 billion prize pool. And it hasn’t hosted a match that may have as high stakes as the two Round of 16 matches on June 29 and July 1 and the quarterfinal it will host on June 5.
There have been weekly meetings for a year to discuss security for the Club World Cup and World Cup.
“Going over intelligence, and that’s what’s key, that’s what really drives our operational plan, is the intelligence,” said Charles Hampton, deputy chief of special events for the Atlanta Police Department.
A group of people from AMBSE and Atlanta police, including Hampton, traveled a few weeks ago to see how security handled important matches between club teams in England and Germany. The match in England was Manchester United versus Arsenal. They also visited the site of the Manchester bombing in 2017 to ask officials there for their knowledge and advice.
Two of the important takeaways from the matches were how police used de-escalation techniques (having their helmets clipped to their belts instead of wearing them) and how they used mounted officers to help crowds.
The Atlanta Police Department has 11 mounted officers and the potential to borrow from other counties or municipalities should more be needed.
“We are definitely working with our mounted team now to make sure that they are ready to work in those type of environments with large crowds,” Hampton said.
None of the stakeholders seemed too concerned that passionate groups of team supporters could take the extra step of becoming dangerous during the Club World Cup. An exception could be if clubs that are in rival countries — say a club from Brazil and one from Argentina or one from England and one from Germany — were to face off in a knockout round in the tournament. Then, there could be potential for what Hampton asked to “leave that from where you brought it from.”
Hosting two teams with passionate supporters in a knockout match may actually be easier on security than hosting the group-stage matches because of the timelines, Exler said.
Clubs and their supporters have known the dates of the group stage matches for months. There will be only a few days’ notice for those that advance into the knockout rounds. There may be fewer supporters at those matches.
If there are enough supporters from one or both clubs that they want to do a march into the stadium, Exler said they will work to make that happen and that it be peaceable by separating the two groups.
As of last week, FIFA hadn’t told Mercedes-Benz Stadium officials if the venue will be open to full capacity (72,000) or soccer capacity (42,500) for the group-stage matches. FIFA also hadn’t announced ticket sales for any of the Atlanta matches. The number of people attending would be a factor in the security plans.
Circling back to the intruder on the stanchions … stadium officials were able to review footage from some of the 900 cameras in and around the stadium to track the person who climbed up above the halo board. They declined to discuss the specifics of how he trespassed into off-limits areas. Unspecified steps have been taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Stopping that one bad actor is the focus of the security efforts for the coming matches.
“We just have to be patient,” Hampton said. “But more important, we just have to be flexible with any plans that we have, if it goes a little off, that we’re just able to adapt to that.”
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