SMG has "terminated its three-year contract" with Chicago-based Monterrey Security for U.S. Bank Stadium, citing an investigation that revealed some employees "weren’t subjected to background checks before their hiring, and some employees weren’t properly trained," according to a front-page piece by Chad Graff of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The security group also has been "under investigation by the State of Minnesota Board of Private Detective and Protective Agent Services since May." Monterrey was the venue’s security group "since the 14-month-old stadium’s inception." Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Chair Mike Vekich said that the company came to SMG and the MSFA with "glowing recommendations." Monterrey also provides security for Wrigley Field and Soldier Field. SMG and the MSFA have hired St. Louis-based Whelan Event Services and Jupiter-based G4S to "replace Monterrey." Whelan "provided security for the Metrodome." The change in security operations at U.S. Bank Stadium "comes less than four months before the stadium hosts Super Bowl LII, though the NFL brings in its own security firm to work with local authorities for that game" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 9/27). Monterrey President Juan Gaytan repeatedly said that staff members who "worked at metal detectors and searched bags weren’t providing security functions nor were staff members who were on the field for Vikings games" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 9/27).
