NFL stadia to serve as emergency shelters

Image: Raymond James Stadium, Devin Morris, CC BY-SA 4.0

The National Football League (NFL) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have teamed up to designate four stadiums as shelters that can be used during response and recovery missions after emergencies and disasters.

‘FOX CAROLINA’ stated that the 82,500-capacity Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the 68,740-capacity Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, the 68,400-capacity Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the 75,000-capacity Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, are the first four stadiums to receive FEMA’s Mission Ready Venue designation.

New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.

Washington, D.C. (US)-based the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under the former President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1^st, 1979. The agency’s primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of the local and the State authorities.

‘FOX CAROLINA’ quoted the FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell as stating, “This new strategy we’re launching with the NFL is a groundbreaking opportunity to help our partners use these venues for emergency response and recovery needs while keeping the communities safe and making them more resilient.”

Criswell said FEMA is starting with the NFL but encourages the other venues, sports organizations and leagues to join the effort.

The Mission Ready Venues will be used in several ways including emergency shelters, staging areas, commodity distribution sites, evacuation pickup points, disaster recovery centers, mass vaccination and testing, and temporary hospitals in times of need.

Commented Cathy Lanier, NFL Chief Security Officer, “The stadiums are valuable community assets that are often used in times of disasters. This designation reflects the role that many stadiums play, not only on Sundays but especially in times of need.”

Lanier said the NFL is proud to work together with FEMA and the first responders to help when disaster strikes.

The 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is currently under review to receive FEMA’s Mission Ready Venue designation.

The FEMA Mission Ready Venue designation is a program that recognizes the venues that can be used for emergency response and recovery efforts. The Mission Ready Venue designations are for five-year increments with a yearly check-in to ensure continued readiness of the venue. Redesignation will be necessary every five years and designation does not supersede any agreements with the State, local, or the private sector entities.
 

‘Safe Space’

‘FEMA’ quoted Criswell as stating, “During large-scale emergencies, like the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, or tornados, we’ve seen how large music, sports and entertainment venues can serve as a safe space for the communities.”

According to the New York University (NYU) School of Professional Studies and the United States Conference of Mayors, the stadiums and arenas can improve the public health and well-being of their communities – including pandemic response during COVID-19.

Washington, D.C. (US)-based the United States Conference of Mayors is the official non-partisan organization of Cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are over 1,400 such Cities in the United States today. Each City is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor.
 
‘FEMA’ further stated that to receive an official Mission Ready Venue designation, the venues must undergo a comprehensive assessment to determine what capabilities the venue may be able to support in emergency and disaster response and recovery efforts. The designation highlights the following attributes of the selected venues:

• Provide Safety and Security: The stadiums are usually centrally located, close to the major roadways and transportation hubs and critical services like the hospitals. If used to respond to a disaster, the designation will save valuable time and resources and will further enhance coordination between the public and the private sectors during disaster response and recovery;
• Provide Accessibility: The stadiums are also compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and can support persons with disabilities and others with access or functional needs. Additionally, 73 percent of the NFL venues are accessible by mass transportation. This provides an avenue to promote equitable service to the underserved populations to access potentially critical lifesaving/life-sustaining services after an event;
• Strengthen Community Resilience: The stadiums and arenas are a focal point of the communities and help strengthen the social networks by enhancing connections between the residents with home team pride. These Mission Ready Venues can boost morale amidst disaster. By providing a more robust and resilient environment these venues can enhance social networks amongst the survivors while providing ample opportunities to establish connections with the venue’s main tenants; and
• Ensure Unity of Effort: Coordination of the stadium resources and services can support the survivors and the responders and help stabilize an incident quickly. Since the stadiums are fixed locations, the resources and services can be deployed quickly. This promotes the community’s physical and economic recovery.

 
Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

• Tags »
• NFL
• shelters

« Previous News: Bid to bring Warriors back from the brink