As one of the latest teams to join a growing trend, the Denver Broncos recently added walk-through weapons detectors to their entry systems at Empower Field at Mile High, greatly speeding up fan entry times, according to stadium IT executives.
By combining walk-through weapons detectors from CEIA USA with a deployment strategy that pushed the initial security perimeter farther away from the stadium gates, the Broncos have been able to speed up NFL home-game entry times to “about two or three minutes” on average, according to Russ Trainor, senior vice president of information technology for the Broncos.
Stadium Tech Report was on hand at a recent Broncos home game to view the new entry strategy, a tactic being deployed at many venues to try to eliminate lines as much as possible. With all stadiums moving to all-digital ticketing en masse after reopening to fans this year, many stadiums and arenas have had entry-procedure challenges mainly due to fans trying to figure out how and when to download tickets. At some venues this past year, large lines have formed when fans attempted to download tickets just before reaching ticketing gates, leading to confusion and frustration.
Taking advantage of some built-in space
At Empower Field at Mile High, the Broncos were able to take advantage of a natural barrier of sorts, the fact that the stadium proper sits on a small hill that rises slightly above most of the surrounding parking-lot areas. By deploying some temporary fencing the Broncos flipped their prior procedure to put security checks first, allowing fans to be inside a secure space before formally entering the stadium by going through individual gates to have their tickets hand-scanned by stadium staff. At entry gates all around the stadium, Stadium Tech Report didn’t see any big line backups at either the security or ticketing gates.
According to Trainor the Broncos have been rolling out the new security system throughout the fall, and while there wasn’t anything visible in terms of signage or messaging to explain the new technology, most fans quickly caught on that all they needed to do was walk through the post-like gates of the CEIA “Opengate” systems without having to stop or take items out of their pockets or bags. Still, many other fans were clearly unfamiliar with the systems, as Stadium Tech Report saw multiple instances of fans stopping, taking things out of their pockets, or holding their hands up in the air, behaviors possibly learned from other weapons detection systems like those found at airports.
The combination of fast security checking and a wide-open, relaxed space afterward allowed fans to make sure they had their digital tickets ready for scanning. By being close to the stadium walls fans could more easily access the stadium’s free Wi-Fi network, and if they needed to download tickets they could do so before getting into the ticket-checking line, thereby eliminating any delays in the queues.
Testing Axess platforms for premium areas
For access to some premium seating areas the Broncos were going even a step farther with entry automation, by deploying self-scanning ticketing pedestals from Axess, which allow fans to self-scan or use technology like NFC to verify tickets. At the one premium-seating entry where we saw Axess platforms being used, the Broncos had a staffer behind each pedestal to help fans who might have been unfamiliar with the technology.
