As part of a successful ongoing relationship with the American National Football League (NFL), Integrated Security Consultants (ISC) was once again appointed to look after this year’s visiting NFL teams – the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers – along with their cheerleaders from the moment they touched down on UK soil just before Christmas.
For the entirety of the visit, which culminated in a much-anticipated and pulsating game between the Broncos and the 49ers at Wembley Stadium, ISC provided a number of services to the NFL including specialist crowd management and operational consultancy.
ISC worked closely with the event organisers, the police service and local authorities to prepare for the first main event, the opening Tailgate Party which took place on the Stadium site.
This prestigious event traditionally marks the beginning of the game day festivities, and provides an opportunity for the NFL to set an electric atmosphere ahead of the contest.
100% search rate on over 40,000 attendees
The NFL’s decision to open this year’s Tailgate Party to all 90,000 game ticket holders contributed to the event turning out to be one of the busiest yet.
Indeed, footfall figures showed that a total of more than 40,000 people passed through the event in less than five hours, with no less than 30,000 people constantly in attendance at any given time.
“The organisers had planned for a free-flowing event, so we worked hard to deliver exactly that,” asserted ISC’s operations manager Graham Harris.
“All of our stewards and security staff worked extremely hard to maintain a 100% search rate on more than 40,000 people in a little less than four-and-a-half hours. They managed this while also ensuring that no bottlenecks, building entry queues and general overcrowding issues occurred.”
As well as the efforts of staff on the ground, the operation and management teams tied everything together tightly with solid pre-planning and well rehearsed contingencies. “This enabled us to ensure that no major incidents occurred on the day,” added Harris.
ISC deployed over 250 security and stewarding staff alone for the Tailgate Party, excluding other critical staff, while also providing security for the main game itself.
ISC’s managing director, Pat Carr, enthused: “We’re extremely proud to have once again been an integral part of the delivery of such an amazing event. All-too-often so many festivals and sporting events suffer as a consequence of not having the correct resources and poor planning, so we’re proud to have proved to the NFL that we are capable of delivering on our promises for the fourth consecutive year.”
Security for the San Francisco Gold Rush
The San Francisco 49ers enlisted ISC’s security staff to ensure the safety of its own high-profile visiting cheerleader squad.
In conjunction with the NFL’s annual International Series game at Wembley Stadium, the prestigious ‘Gold Rush’ cheerleading squad of this year’s home team, the San Francisco 49ers, flew to the UK ahead of the main game to set the atmosphere and kick-start festivities.
ISC was selected to provide all security and close protection needs.
As well as performing at the International Series game, the cheerleaders’ visit included a hectic schedule of promotional appearances, interviews and signings at numerous locations across London.
“The current security situation in London coupled with the sheer number of locations and movement of the squad presented a potential security nightmare,” explained ISC’s close protection supervisor Tony Wright.
“Thorough forward planning and carefully pre-planned procedures meant we were well prepared for any situation that could potentially arise.”
Events began with a small advance party of Gold Rush cheerleaders arriving nine days ahead of the main game to take part in a BBC Breakfast television interview.
From the moment they touched down in London, the cheerleaders were met by ISC’s close protection and escort team staff. The advance party were joined later that week by additional Gold Rush squad members, enabling the NFL’s promotions and publicity programme to step into its full stride.
The cheerleaders were invited for interview and filming at the famous Pineapple Dance Studios, as well as visiting Tottenham Hotspur FC, the Mayor of London at City Hall and troops of the Household Cavalry stationed at Horse Guards Parade.
Their schedule also included an appearance at Fulham FC, at London-Based radio stations, autograph signings and performances around the Capital (including at flagship Footlocker and Reebok stores, a live interview with Sky Sports Soccer AM, a Fan Rally at Trafalgar Square and, finally, a boat trip along the Thames the day before the game).
“Everywhere the cheerleaders went we surveyed extensively prior to their arrival,” explained ISC’s close protection supervisor Justin Edison.
“This process of gathering information gave the confidence and knowledge that the cheerleaders were being brought into the safest environments possible. We also had to pay particular attention to anyone showing ‘too much’ undue interest, especially given the extremely high security alert that’s currently in place.”
What happened on game day
On game day, the cheerleaders split into groups for autograph signing and spectacular cheerleading performances. Throughout the game, ISC close protection staff were present around the side of the pitch, working closely with response teams to ensure a secure exit post-game.
The following day, the Gold Rush squad returned to the USA after successfully completing their ambitious schedule.
Erin Olmstead, director of the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush, praised ISC for their efforts.
“ISC went above and beyond for our visit to the UK,” said Olmstead. “We are forever grateful for their assistance during a demanding week of appearances and community visits for our 49ers cheerleading team.”
Olmstead concluded: “Throughout changes and last-minute requests, ISC was able to quickly adapt and ensure our safety in every situation. The company’s friendly staff became part of the family by the end of the week, and we will never forget them.”
ISC secures The Economist’s Global Sports Summit
The Economist recently held its annual high profile sports conference, The Global Sport Summit 2010.
With leading and hugely influential figures in world sport gathering for the prestigious event, The Economist recruited the expertise of ISC to satisfy all security requirements.
For a second consecutive year, ISC successfully managed security for the esteemed event, which took place at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane.
Held annually in association with America’s National Football League (NFL), the event played host to a range of high profile delegates from across the industry including senior business leaders.
Attendees this year included representatives of Arsenal FC, the International Olympic Committee, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, The Football Association, ITV and The London Marathon.
Security: contributing to the event’s success
Security is a critical contributing factor towards the conference’s success and ISC’s operations manager Dean Tindall and ISC’s NFL operations manager, Steve Mack, managed the event.
Tindall explained: “An event of this size requires a great deal of planning. Prior to the conference we had many meetings with the event organisers and the NFL. We also organised a number of meetings with the police, the hotel and its in-house security team to establish and communicate exact security requirements.”
ISC’s security provision on the day included bag searchers at entrance points, information and directional staff, corporate security to guard out-of-bounds areas and close protection drivers for both the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the San Francisco 49ers’ owner Dr York.
“We had a large team of Security Industry Authority-licensed and trained staff securing the event, including additional close protection staff that we had on standby as a precautionary measure,” added Tindall.
Freedom to roam for the press
Members of the press had free roam at the event, with only a few out-of-bounds areas enforced.
“Journalists are naturally inquisitive, so we had to pay particular attention to the client’s designated out-of-bounds areas to ensure the integrity of these zones,” continued Tindall.
“As always, we made every effort to strike the right balance between providing professional, customer-focused and high level security while at the same time ensuring our presence didn’t unnecessarily ‘get in the way’ of the event proceedings.”
The conference ended successfully without any incidents or security breaches at all.
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