Jeff Spoerndle, vice president of Best Crowd Management, part of Montreal-based GardaWorld International, has learned a few things in his more than three decades of, literally, working the crowds.
In addition to the potential language barriers that often exist between event staff and fans attending an international event, the culture of those attendees is also important, he said.
“An MLS crowd is different than a Concacaf crowd and will be significantly different than the 2026 FIFA World Cup crowd will be,” he said, noting that Best staffs events at approximately 150 North American venues, including World Cup venues in Dallas and Miami.
He said he is expecting that World Cup security planning on his side will begin 18-24 months before the teams arrive. Similarly, his staff for the upcoming Formula One Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix — which will total approximately 700 employees — began arriving a month early, “with a gradual lockdown within the footprint.”
Best’s résumé includes four Super Bowls; seven NCAA men’s Final Fours; five World Series; three Stanley Cup Finals; the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix; as well as multiple political national conventions and North American papal visits.
“We have 25,000 event-specific employees,” he said. “What that means is that we don’t repurpose security employees from office buildings or other segments. Our sports and entertainment event security and concierge and front-of-the-house employees are trained to work in sports and entertainment. Working an international event just adds another layer.”
The company has been a Petrone Risk client since 2019, and earlier this year was awarded three years of Safety Act coverage.
“You are asked by DHS to provide so much information and do so much paperwork,” Spoerndle said. “Petrone offers so much insight because they see so many different ways of doing things.”
