Stadiums bring large numbers of spectators, whether it be football, a concert or another type of event. Safety and security is the most important component of any event. Successful security is achieved with a good balance of good preparation, good management and well-designed infrastructure.

Sporting and event organisations such as FIFA provide guidelines on newly built stadiums and stadium refurbishments. Stadiums constantly hosting large scale events present major challenges for event organisers, who bear the full responsibility of their guests at all time. Video surveillance technology is the most vital tool, to monitor as well as record crowd activity.

Common issues in large stadia include overcrowding, drunken behaviour, violence, public safety, participants safety and terrorism.  Having CCTV means that incidents can be dealt with quickly and video footage is stored of the incident. Good video footage may be needed for any legal action that may be taken.

Advancement in CCTV camera technology makes housing thousands of people in one stadium much easier than older systems. Traditionally hundreds of cameras would be needed to cover large areas such as in a stadium, but the latest cameras make covering large areas much simpler. Suspicious behaviour can be easily pinpointed using powerful HD cameras. Having far less cameras covering the same area, reduces maintenance and repair costs versus traditional CCTV cameras. Cameras allow easy search and zoom viewing, with high definition colour clarity. Having less cameras, means less personnel needed to man the cameras. In fact, cameras do not even need to be monitored onsite. The latest technology cameras are web based and can be viewed from anywhere. Many choose not to man their own cameras, and opt to outsource this job to a third-party company to monitor the cameras on their behalf.

Thorne Access and Security Ltd provides bespoke security systems to suit all types of end users. With over 10 years in business, they have secured their reputation in high quality customer service, providing design and installation services across the North of England. Thorne’s service engineers are available 24 hours a day to contract holders.

Offering a full range of security services from intruder alarms, CCTV, access control, monitoring, service & maintenance, Thorne is NSI (National Security Inspectorate) approved.

When Burnley Football Club was promoted into the Premier League, it needed to improve its stadium to meet the increased security criteria. The return to the Premier League would mean Burnley’s match day supporter numbers would increase around 50% from the previous year, so ensuring that spectators are kept safe was Burnley Football Club’s main concern.

The promotion was a good time to upgrade its entire video surveillance system.  Due to the limited time frame they had during the summer break from the season, Burnley FC was left with a short time to make security improvements. Thorne had been working with Burnley FC for quite some time, so naturally they turned to them to make the necessary upgrades. To read the full case study of the installation Thorne made at Burnley Football Club click here.

For more information on how Thorne Access and Security can help secure your business visit thorne.uk.com.