While the most conspicuous improvement pro football's San Francisco 49ers underwent in 2011 played itself out on the field with a 10-3 record through 13 games, another upgrade behind the scenes has been no less dramatic. The city's famed Candlestick Park, the Niners' home since 1971, is safer and more efficient than ever thanks to substantial enhancements to the stadium's video surveillance system.
The 49ers returning to their winning ways of the 1980s and 1990s — when they became the first team to win five Super Bowls — and fortified security have combined to create a much friendlier game-day experience for fans at Candlestick. It's a far better environment than that of earlier in the year when violence erupted in and around the facility during a preseason contest against the Bay Area-rival Oakland Raiders.
The incidents included two parking-lot shootings, a bathroom beating that left a man unconscious and a fistfight melee in the stands. It marked the second time in less than five months that San Francisco sports fans had been involved in situations where rowdiness turned shockingly violent. In March, a Giants' fan suffered brain injuries after being brutally attacked in Dodger Stadium's parking lot.
However, 49ers team officials say these high-profile events were not what prompted Candlestick's surveillance upgrade, at least not primarily. Rather it was driven by an outdated and failing legacy system. In the post-9/11 climate, that is an unacceptable proposition. The timing actually had more to do with the player lockout that had the NFL season in question into July, funding challenges and deciding how much to invest in a complex due to give way to a brand new stadium within the next few years.
"We had an antiquated system where it came to processing different angles, or better timelines or bookmarking certain things and replay functions," says 49ers Vice President of Stadium Operations & Security Jim Mercurio, who has been with the club since its last NFL title in 1994. "The upgraded system was an opportunity to give our folks in the command post easier tools to be more efficient and effective."
Like having to quickly develop and execute a strategic game plan for an upcoming opponent, Candlestick personnel teamed with security systems integrator IPVision and others to deploy a new IP-based video surveillance solution between home games this past September. Mercurio and IPVision Vice President of Engineering Ben Green, who worked on 2008's Super Bowl in Phoenix, recount the process.
'Super' Integrator Chosen
Headquartered in Phoenix with branch offices in nearby Tucson, Dallas, San Jose, Chicago and London, IPVision was launched in 2004 after turning its concentration from network to security integration. The business now specializes in the government, education, law enforcement and utility sectors. Its revenue mix is 40 percent video surveillance, 30 percent access control, 10 percent intrusion detection and 20 percent custom integration.
"During the past five years IPVision has built a team of engineers and technicians that have a tremendous amount of experience in deploying IP physical security solutions for the majority of leading manufacturers," says Green, one of IPVision's founders. "This has given us a tremendous advantage by having such diverse experience in the market, and it has fueled our national and now international growth."
For the Candlestick project, IPVision submitted a bid after being referred to the 49ers by a network integrator that had a history working with the stadium's audio/video contractor.
"Ben and his company made an offer that was quite frankly difficult for us to turn our backs on," says Mercurio. "It's not fun to have to do a project like this during the season. I kind of wish our paths would have crossed a little sooner, but that's how it goes sometimes. They really responded and it's been great."
IPVision's prior NFL stadium experience also no doubt helped it win the contract, which was awarded in August and culminated discussions that began the beginning of the summer.
"We provided wireless rapid-deployment perimeter surveillance around the University of Phoenix stadium were the 2008 Super Bowl was held, and around NFL events that were taking place around downtown Phoenix," says Green. "That project and Candlestick both required us to have the systems operational within a week."
System Design X's & O's
Mercurio and 49ers management went into this undertaking with a firm handle on the types of features they were lacking and the capabilities they wanted their new system to be able to perform.
"It had to be user-friendly for system operators, and there are a number of folks who use it," he says. "It had to be compatible with Candlestick's antiquated equipment dating back to the 1970s or 1980s. It had to be able to watch more than 100 cameras, with pan/tilt/zoom to scan the facility. Finally, we wanted the ability to quickly save and send video clips to document incidents."
Candlestick management's initial mindset to simply repair and/or replace pre-existing hardware with similar products went by the wayside. This is because they were made aware of an alternative approach to achieve the functionality they coveted while realizing greater cost effectiveness.
"We consulted with the 49ers on what features they were looking for, the deficiencies in their current system, and suggested some ways to increase staff efficiency with mobile applications and access to the system via the network at different locations in the stadium," says Green. "During the consultation we discussed implementing a migration plan that would allow them to leverage their existing cameras."
To maximize the effectiveness of the 120 surveillance cameras distributed inside and around the perimeter of Candlestick Park, IPVision encoded them with Axis Model 7406 and 7404 encoders, and replaced the existing DVRs with OnSSI's Ocularis CS VMS solution. The product enabled the design of two video wall-monitoring locations.
"We chose Ocularis because we wanted an open architecture VMS with a full-featured client, and a video wall option for Candlestick Park's two security operations centers," says Green. "We also wanted a platform that supported all of the leading IP cameras from multiple manufacturers, and that had mobile client options available from other manufacturers."
One of the operations centers is part of the press booth operated by 49ers security staff on game day in conjunction with the San Francisco Police Department. The second location is within the San Francisco Park Rangers office inside Candlestick Park. The rangers secure the stadium on nongame days and during the off-season. Both operations centers were set up with map-driven interfaces of the stadium.
"The system allows my manager of game operations and security to pull up different cameras for different reasons. He can split screens to constantly monitor several hot spots while still monitoring the big picture, so to speak," says Mercurio. "And the park rangers have been able to really dive into it without needing to read a 500-page user guide."
OnSSI's support and technical staff was intimately involved during the installation. "Our online calculators and other technical resources helped the integrator and end user select appropriate hardware like servers and storage," says Vice President of Sales Mulli Diamant. "OnSSI was also involved in training operators after the software was installed." (For more, see sidebar.)
The IP-based surveillance solution — which Mercurio says came at a cost of $75,000 to $100,000 — leverages a dedicated Cisco switching network infrastructure for security applications. Hitachi Data Systems servers/storage arrays were implemented for video archiving.
"Hitachi was chosen due to their advanced built-in I/O capabilities," says Green. "They can handle high density video surveillance deployments, and deliver the I/O speed and reliability needed to optimize the performance in the Ocularis client for viewing live and archived video."
Ready in Time for Kickoff
As indicated, one of the project's top challenges was the narrow window of time to proceed between games in order to avoid any significant downtime. Like running a hurry-up offense during a two-minute drill, IPVision stepped up to meet the demand.
"The goal was to get the system operational in one week between home games. The challenges were overcome with a dedicated team that worked around the clock to meet the timeline," says Green. "We started the installation in September 2011 and finished the initial system migration in a week. We then spent another couple of weeks working on some of the advanced video wall and map integration features."
IPVision worked closely with the San Francisco Department of Parks and Recreation to coordinate access to the stadium without any potential delays.
"The timing was really on us because we didn't have some of the funding in place," says Mercurio. "I would not recommend doing this type of project during the season unless you absolutely have to, and you need complete confidence you're not going to become vulnerable during the process."
The finished surveillance solution enables 49ers security staff, law enforcement, rangers and other first responders to monitor and swiftly address a wide array of issues throughout Candlestick's 69,732-capacity stadium seating, walkways, food and beverage areas, gate entrances, and parking lots.
"Ocularis' flexible navigation allows 49ers staff to switch views and push camera feeds to other security staff to rapidly respond to incidents," says Green. "With the amount of people gathered on an NFL game day, there are constantly activities being reported by fans either directly to security personnel or via a text-messaging system."
Candlestick Park has partnered with In Stadium Solutions to provide text-messaging service for assistance requests or to file formal complaints. Upon receiving a text, a nearby camera can view that section and help assess what response may be necessary, if any.
"Back in the day in the command post, you worked through binoculars while you called out what you could potentially see. This camera system helps determine the appropriate response and how you want people to arrive at the scene," says Mercurio. "It gives command post operators and dispatchers an extra tool to communicate with that is invaluable."
Solution Performs Like Champ
Not only is the system enhancing security and safety, but it is delivering numerous operational advantages. Examples include monitoring assorted lines to facilitate better crowd control, dealing with accidents and medical emergencies, ensuring smooth vehicular traffic outside the ballpark and keeping an eye on stadium staff to maximize productivity.
"Security systems don't just mean dealing with bad guys. It also gives us the ability to enhance the game-day experience," says Mercurio. "For example, is that usher in the right position? Is that security guard making the rounds the way we expect him to? Can we move crowd control? Can we open up other concession stand to relieve pressure? It's a fantastic tool to get people in sync, efficient and functioning."
As is typical with surveillance deployments, in this case even as a mid-decade move to bigger and better stadium digs looms, the end user is mulling over further system enhancements.
"There is interest to add video analytics, access control integration and mobile video clients for roaming stadium security staff," says Green. "We are also looking at some custom integration involving the text-based messaging system."
For now the solution is helping keep violence where it belongs — on the punishing end of a collision with 49ers' star defender Patrick Willis. And while the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints may have something to say about it, the system just may capture video of the franchise's first NFC Championship Game since 1998.
Upon Further Review: Video Platform Scores!
The new video surveillance upgrade at San Francisco's Candlestick Park is built upon OnSSI's Ocularis CS enterprise-scale, IP video-centric platform to enable live monitoring, investigation and event handling.
"Candlestick Park has a lot of cameras and not a lot of people to watch them," says Brad Anderson, national sales manager of OnSSI. "The park needed more security and less operational costs, and Ocularis CS enables operators to manage, view, control and play back video easily. They have a lot of fans showing up once a week on game day, and they need something fast and easy to view."
The client software provides immediate access to camera views and video playback via an intuitive interface. In addition to live viewing, it offers blank screen monitoring capability with video "pushed" to an operator only as needed. These features enable Candlestick operators to manage video evidence and preserve events for an unlimited time, organized in an easily accessible database.