BB&T Ballpark is a state-of-the-art baseball facility located in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a price tag of USD $55 million, the new urban stadium has nearly sold out its 10,200-seat capacity during every game since opening its doors in April 2014.
The business challenge
BB&T Ballpark is a state-of-the-art baseball facility located in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a price tag of USD $55 million, the new urban stadium has nearly sold out its 10,200-seat capacity during every game since opening its doors in April 2014.
Before construction workers broke ground, BB&T Ballpark management reached out to veteran security consultant, Rick Sousa, President at Vertex Technology Consultants, to detail the specifications for the new security system. The stadium’s aim was to promote an open and airy feel where guests could move freely throughout the stadium, while keeping an eye on strategic locations and limiting access to more sensitive areas such as ballpark management offices, loading docks and cash handling rooms.
After the project went out to bid, Security101, a trusted and highly-knowledgeable security system integrator, delivered the winning proposal for
Genetec Security Center. The unified security platform unifies Omnicast IP video surveillance, Synergis access control and AutoVu automatic license plate recognition systems, with other third-party systems and plugins.
Intuitive and unified platform provide bird's-eye view of stadium
To keep guests, VIPs, media and players safe on game day, BB&T Ballpark strategically installed 50 network cameras from
Axis Communications inside and outside the stadium. Various doors within the facility have also been equipped with
HID Global iClass readers and controllers, to secure access to ballpark personnel-only areas. All of these devices are viewed and managed within Security Center, through the Genetec Omnicast video surveillance system and Synergis access control system.
Bosch Intrusion Detection panels have also been unified within Security Center, providing BB&T Ballpark administrators with a global view of its security environment. Intrusion panel alarms and access-denied events are all synced with video from nearby cameras, so officers can quickly see what’s happening and respond.
Omnicast offers BB&T Ballpark operators eyes in the sky
When the crowds draw in on game day to watch the Charlotte Knights in action, the local police department come into the stadium to handle active surveillance. Police officers monitor live video of seating areas, back of house areas, entry gates, sidewalks and all other entry/exit points, keeping threats at bay. They work from a centrally-located security control room which is equipped with two wall-mounted monitors, acting as a rotating video wall, and desktop monitors which allow them to investigate suspicions.
So far, BB&T Ballpark has been able to use the video to identify instances of employee theft and disgruntled fans. In the latter case, video was used as evidence as to why the persons were escorted out of the stadium and banned from the ballpark altogether. Foul balls, scalpers and skateboarders that use rails and stairs as their playground are monitored closely as well. Operationally, the ballpark is also using the unified security platform to anticipate shipments coming into the loading docks, and to address any crowd bottleneck issues and long lines at ticketing booth or concessions stands.
Synergis access control keeps employees on time
With the Synergis access control system, BB&T ballpark has been able to program cardholder groups and assign specific access control permissions according to an individual’s role at the stadium. This ensures only those with authority have access rights to critical areas such as the cash handling room. Door schedules can also be easily modified for game days, where certain areas are unlocked and manned to allow for easier facility access to media personnel and players.
While the access control system has proven to be very helpful in securing more sensitive areas such as back-of-house and VIP entrances, Synergis has also proved to be useful for tracking employee attendance as well. Access control reports show what time employees swiped their badge to enter the facility, and the synced video proves if it was in fact the actual cardholder. From a human resource standpoint, BB&T Ballpark can identify if any time-clocking was handled by friends of employees, and potentially address the fraudulent behaviour accordingly.
Considering BB&T Ballpark's future needs
Security Center has exceeded BB&T ballpark’s expectations in terms of its intuitive functionalities, and the solution’s open architecture will allow for the seamless addition of more cameras and features as the stadium continues to identify more needs.
Infrastructure at a glance
Genetec Security Center is managing 50 Axis Communications network cameras, including models such as AXIS P3304V, AXIS P3384VE, and AXIS 26034E. HID Global iClass readers and controllers are installed on 10 doors throughout the facility. Bosch G Series control panels were chosen for intrusion detection and unified within Security Center. All video and data is sent back to a dedicated local server with 200GB for archives, and 1 TB of storage for back-ups. Video is recorded on motion and kept for a minimum of 30 days.