LEGAL EASE

From training and documentation to newly established wellness protocols, sports venue operators must adapt their security practices or face the legal consequences.

“YOU NEVER KNOW WHO’S WATCHING.”

It’s a lesson that has long resonated with Bill Squires, the former venue manager at old Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium (on two occasions), Cleveland Browns Stadium (now First Energy Stadium), and ESPN Wide World of Sports. Before starting his career in the world of sports facilities and event management, Squires was a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy.

An active-duty naval aviator for 12 years, Squires was the Communications Officer onboard the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67). In 1986, the “JFK” was scheduled to dock in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which was close to the spring training home of the New York Yankees. Squires, a lifelong Yankees fan, reached out to the Yankees about getting tickets for the ship’s crew. However, he was skeptical that Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, would be open to giving away hundreds of tickets that the Yankees prefer to sell.

Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)

But he was reminded that it is unwise to underestimate the Yankees.

“I was expecting to hear that they couldn’t help, but instead, I was told that Mr. Steinbrenner said that we could get anything we wanted,” recalls Squires. In this case, that meant 500 tickets. Squires also coordinated a tour of the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY for the members of the Yankees organization (ownership, coaches, players, front office staff, and their families) and was responsible for guiding Steinbrenner throughout the ship. One thing Squires didn’t realize at the time was that the Yankees owner was always watching him and observing how Squires handled himself.

Editorial credit: eddtoro | Shutterstock.com Pictured, from left to right, in the Yankee dugout are Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, and Bill Squires.

“I think he liked the fact that I went to the Naval Academy because he understood the attention to detail that was instilled in us,” adds Squires. Steinbrenner apparently liked what he saw and offered Squires the opportunity to become a member of the New York Yankees. Today, that’s one of the lessons Squires passes on to his Sports Facilities and Event Management graduate students in the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, where he has taught since 2007.

“One of the first lessons I share with them is if you don’t ask, you’ll never know. And the second thing is, you never know who’s watching you,” Squires says. That second lesson is especially useful in actual practice, as every move a sports security and event management professional makes is closely watched and scrutinized. Any misstep can lead to messy legal issues and lengthy litigation, costing teams and organizations more than just money – it could cost them their loyal fans.

“Hiring, training, and staffing are very, very important. You have to hire the right people, train them, and then staff the building in accordance with the staffing needs that are necessary for that particular event.”

BILL SQUIRES

NEW AND OLD CHALLENGES

The first step to protecting a venue or event against the potential of litigation is ensuring the right people are hired and then properly trained on the front end.

“Hiring, training, and staffing properly are very, very important. You have to hire the right people, train them, and then staff the building in accordance with the staffing needs that are necessary for that particular event,” shares Squires, adding that event staffing needs can vary. In 1994 at Giants Stadium, for example, he managed seven Men’s World Cup soccer matches, and the following year, he was involved with an event involving Pope John Paul II. Both events had unique staffing needs.

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Bill Squires, recovering from a lengthy hospital stay after a COVID-19 infection. Carla Varriale-Barker, Shareholder and Chair of the Sports, Entertainment and Recreation Practice Group for Segal McCambridge Singer and Mahoney, Ltd., has been practicing law for 25 years and has spent approximately 20 of those years working with professional and amateur sports teams. During that time, she has noticed a common theme in many lawsuits.

“The one thing that I find is plaintiffs’ attorneys always hit on the degree of training and whether things are documented properly. We know people meet and come up with strategies for security, but it’s not always documented because people might be concerned that things might come out in discovery if there is a lawsuit,” Varriale-Barker shares.

And if it does come down to a lawsuit?

“I think a judge and jury are persuaded that facilities are reasonable and exercise reasonable care when they show a commitment to training and show a commitment to looking at complaints or problems or losses and show that they took action to react to those issues and then demonstrate a strategy going forward,” continues Varriale-Barker.

Squires, meanwhile, notes an increased emphasis on training that occurred after 9/11, when all policies and procedures were closely reexamined. The industry benefitted as a result, but the pandemic has made this critical aspect of event management a bit more challenging. “Right now, staffing is very difficult because there’s a lot of people out there that feel they don’t need a part-time job working in a sports venue,” Squires says, also adding that there is now an additional layer venue operators must focus on – health and cleanliness. “I know how hard these individuals work to do the best they can to make sure their venue is a safe, comfortable, clean, and enjoyable environment, and there is now a huge emphasis on cleanliness.”

Squires has firsthand experience with the devastating health impacts of COVID-19. In 2020, he was in the hospital for 48 days, and he spent 32 of those days on a ventilator. His doctor and nurses thought he was not going to make it. When he did, he then had to learn how to put his pants on, brush his teeth, walk, and do all the things people, in general, take for granted.

This experience reinforced a reality – it’s no longer simply about security.

“In the post-9/11 world, it was all about security, and while it’s still about security, it’s also about the fan experience and sanitization and hygiene and cleaning,” adds Squires. Varriale-Barker points to the rapidly changing COVID-19 information as another potential safety risk venue operators have had to quickly adjust to this past year. Further complicating matters are the different approaches that have been taken by schools, organizations, and facilities throughout the nation.

“COVID was really something where everybody needed to ramp up and get educated quickly on the most current and reliable information, as well as how to minimize the risk of exposure,” she shares. “But COVID was a great example of how something could come seemingly out of left field, and a facility would need to ramp up quickly in terms of education and training policies. And for the most part, I think that facilities across the country were successful with that.”

The COVID-19 wellness protocols not only had to keep fans safe, but they had to be visible to the fans to make them feel comfortable without negatively impacting the fan experience. That fan experience is often tied to alcohol consumption, which fuels many of the issues that could lead to litigation.

Squires consults for the New York Football Giants and liaisons between the Giants and MetLife Stadium management team. He notes that alcohol management remains a primary concern for his clients and across the industry.

“One of the things that I’ve learned during my time in the industry is that everybody should be responsible for three things — guest service, security, and cleanliness — and any venue that sells alcohol requires another level of awareness,” Squires says. Varriale-Barker echoes this risk, noting, “Anytime you mix in large crowds and alcohol, the calculus of the risk can increase. But one thing that all these facilities share, whether it’s a school facility or professional facility, is the same potential for something to go wrong and the need to be prepared.”

Major League Baseball is no stranger to these incidents, both inside the stadium and outside the stadium.

STRIKE THREE

Squires has consulted on or been asked to be an expert witness in approximately 50 lawsuits, and the first lawsuit he was asked to consult on involved the father-son attack on then Kansas City Royals first-base coach, Tom Gamboa, in 2002. The attack occurred at

Squires has served as an the Chicago White Sox expert witness for the industry home venue formerly in numerous lawsuits. known as Comiskey Park. Gamboa sued the father, William Ligue, Jr., the security firm and the concessionaire at the time of the attack.

“Most of the lawsuits I’ve been involved with usually get settled and don’t go to trial, but there are exceptions,” Squires shares.

PROACTIVE OUTREACH

Fan, staff, or participant injuries can be an unfortunate byproduct of security mistakes or breakdowns, or simply bad timing, but further damages can be potentially mitigated by proactive outreach to the injured party.

“I find that good outreach to the injured person sometimes will blunt the force of a lawsuit or somebody not feeling so aggrieved by something that has happened at the facility. I think that’s a very important component of a risk management strategy,” Varriale-Barker shares.

“There will always be occasions where something happens. Facilities are too large or too varied for something not to happen. But show that you’ve recorded it, reacted to it, and it often helps if you can show a judge and jury that you were proactive to the greatest extent possible. And that might be planning and meeting ahead of time to talk about security or safety concerns and reviewing policies and procedures,” concludes Varriale-Barker. l “There will always be occasions where something happens. Facilities are too large or too varied for something not to happen…it often helps if you can show a judge and jury that you were proactive to the greatest extent possible.”

CARLA VARRIALE-BARKER

Editorial credit: NYCStock | Shutterstock.com

Editorial credit: NYCStock | Shutterstock.com

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