Large Facilities Share COVID-19 Reopening Measures

Although the coronavirus pandemic brought challenges to all facilities, larger ones—such as stadiums— faced additional obstacles to safely reopening such as effective crowd control and efficient cleaning of a multi-purpose building. Facility and operational managers at several of these facilities explained how they are working to overcome these challenges during the ISSA Show North America Virtual Experience on November 16.

“The pandemic has challenged us more than we’d ever have thought, one year ago, six months ago, even two months ago,” said Patty Olinger, executive director of GBAC, a division of ISSA, who moderated the educational panel discussion Lessons Learned from the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

One of the panel speakers, Todd Boyan, senior vice president of stadium operations for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, said the biggest question was how many spectators would be allowed inside Hard Rock Stadium. “We didn’t know if we would be operating with a capacity of zero or a full stadium,” he said.

To prepare, the stadium determined they’d have about 13,000 seats available if they allowed season ticket holders to attend with six feet between all groups. The stadium placed seat coverings over seats that were unavailable to enforce social distancing.

The stadium counted on advice from cleaning industry experts, including ISSA, to help the facility set new cleaning standards, reevaluate its equipment, and determine how to use this equipment correctly in the variety of settings within the facility, from locker rooms and the arena to restrooms and concession stands.

To eliminate contamination, stadium officials installed touchless appliances in all the restrooms, including automatic faucets and paper towel dispensers. They switched from buffets to prepackaged food and set staggered entrance times so large groups of fans weren’t going through the metal detectors at the same time. They updated the stadium’s air filtration system and opened doors and windows to allow for more fresh air.

The stadium eliminated any activities it could not directly control by banning tailgating.

One area that officials at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, strove to keep control of was the employment of its workforce, said Mark Tester, the convention center’s executive director. “We have a large full-time workforce and we needed to be prepared on how to keep them employed,” he said.

The center cut operating costs and delayed an expansion project to have the funds to keep staff. It reorganized employees who weren’t busy into other departments, for example temporarily reassigning housekeepers to the utilities department.

Whatever methods they took, the priority for all facilities was to ensure they created an environment that is safe for visitors. “These facilities relied on equipment, innovation, and evidence-based methods that have been proven to work,” said Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, director at GBAC, a division of ISSA. He said facility managers and building operations staff who were generally relegated to speak at the end of operational meetings are now finding themselves at the top of the agenda as facility safety is now the No. 1 consideration.

Macgregor-Skinner said he hopes this focus will remain No. 1 when the coronavirus ends, reminding people there are always infectious diseases to manage, including influenza, measles, and norovirus.

“You need to take a holistic approach, identify the hazards and the risks that can enter a facility, and determine what the consequences will be,” he said. “We can have events and let people in facilities if we do it in the right way.” 

ISSA Show North America Virtual Experience education sessions, such as this one, are still available for on-demand viewing through March 2021 to those who register for the All-Access pass.