United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Introduction

Before the 2004 summer Olympic Games began, organizers contracted to Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC), an American company, for crowd management services. During the opening and closing ceremonies, personnel helped spectators find their seats, gave general information on the stadium and its features and helped exit the crowds when the ceremonies and events ended.

Why do crowds need to be managed? The best reasons are the following: Firstly, big gatherings of people raise the odds of a dangerous occurrence happening. Secondly, individuals within a crowd always take for granted that others have the responsibility. Thirdly, big crowds or gatherings of people make changes in action slower and more complicated. Fourthly, big crowds or gatherings of people make communications slower and more complicated. And most importantly, big crowds of people raise the possible number of victims (Marsden, A. W, 1998).

The definition of crowd management is every component of the game or event from the design of the stadium or arena to the game itself and the protection of the patrons from unforeseeable risk of harm from other individuals or the actual facility itself. The main criteria for deciding if crowd control procedures are sufficient and proper depend on the type of event, threats of aggression, existence and sufficiency of the emergency plan, expectation of crowd size and seating arrangement, known rivalries among teams and schools, and the use of a security workforce and ushers (Facilities and Event Management, n.d.). A competent crowd management plan has appropriate signage, an effectual communication structure, services for various disabled individuals, a properly trained and capable staff, and procedures and policies for all possible instances (Facilities and Event Management, n.d.).

This paper investigates crowd management issues in sports settings and instances of failures. Crowd management has been an area of concern in the sports domain ever since the Olympic Games began in Ancient Olympia around 776 B.C., up until today with the NBA, Soccer games, Football, games, etc. Facility management has the obligation to protect their patrons and these managers must also have an effective crowd management plan in order to protect the character and image of the team and facility. Historically, managing and assisting crowds has been much more effective than trying to control them. While this area of sport is often overlooked, it is a top priority for facility managers and for the sport itself.

The author's interest in the topic of crowd management grew from witnessing the aggressive fans of an NBA game during the 2004 season when fans at Auburn Hills, Michigan fought with several players of the Indiana Pacers. Every year throughout the world in stadiums, arenas, and other sports related areas, crowd rushes, fires, bombs, crowd crushes, heat exhaustion, stage collapsing, overcrowding, and rioting result in thousands of deaths. Facility managers face many difficulties when managing crowds of 10,000 or 100,000 people.

Some research points out how the individual regresses socially, behaviorally, and psychologically when he or she is in a large crowd. A civilized person may emerge into behavior bordering barbarous when in a crowd and some theories propose that aggressiveness in individuals is an innate characteristic, which we are born with and this makes aggressive behavior inevitable at certain times. This is where proper crowd management techniques are involved. By having a properly trained staff, sufficient signage, an effective and efficient communication system, an effective ejection policy and a proper alcohol management policy in place, the risk of aggression, injuries and death can be reduced. Information on crowd management can be gathered through various journals, Internet sites, and the EBSCO database.

Review of Literature

Historical Examples of Crowd Management Issues

Crowd management issues can be seen from the days of ancient Greece. In Ancient Olympia, where the Olympic Games began, women were forbidden to watch the Games or be in the general vicinity.

Pausanias recounts there is a mountain with high precipitous cliffs, Typeum, from which any woman caught at the Olympic Games or even on the other side of the Alpheius would have been cast down. No woman was caught, except Callipateira, a widow disguised as a trainer. She brought her son to compete at Olympia (Powell, John. T, 1994, p. 11).

Her son was victorious and Callipateira “jumped over the enclosure in which trainers had to stay, revealing herself as a woman” (Powell, John. T, 1994, p. 11). Olympic organizers realized that she was a woman, however; they let her go without any fines because of the respect everyone had for her son, her brothers, and her father, all of whom had won before at the Olympics. “A law was then passed that for future celebrations all trainers must strip before entering the arena” (Powell, John. T, 1994, p. 11).

Sports facilities of the ancient world did not have the same problems of modern days. Callipateira presented a problem for facility managers of Ancient Olympia. Although keeping women out of Olympic sites may seem absurd today, in Ancient Greece these Olympic sites were highly sacred and only men were allowed in these holy areas. Having seen a woman in an Olympic arena would have upset the large crowds in the ancient stadia and arenas, from spectators to athletes. One problem for Ancient Olympic facility managers was how to keep women out of Olympic sites. The solution was to have a law passed that future Games must have all trainers strip prior to entering the arena to verify their gender.

The Olympic Games lasted from 776 B.C. till the 4th century A.D. They did not begin again until 1896 A.D. as organized sport was not as important during the middle ages in Europe. Today’s facility managers must also provide proactive solutions for different contemporary problems such as refusing entry to drunk patrons, checking patrons for weapons and other modern day problems.