Video Surveillance System with Arecont Vision® Cameras Helps MetLife Stadium Keep an Eye on Safety
More than 130 Multi-Megapixel Cameras Deliver Excellent Wide Area and Detailed Coverage to Enhance the Guest Experience
CUSTOMER:
Located in the Meadowlands and part of the MetLife Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, MetLife Stadium is home to the New York Football Giants and the New York Jets. The $1.6 billion stadium was financed and built by a joint venture between the two teams, who operate it through the New Meadowlands Stadium Company. The stadium opened in April 2010 and boasts a seating capacity of 82,500, making it one of the NFL®’s largest stadiums. On February 2, 2014, MetLife Stadium played host to Super Bowl® XLVIII.
CHALLENGE:
MetLife Stadium wanted to replace 26 IP cameras located at the perimeter gates of the stadium and also to deploy 180° panoramic-view cameras in place of the 27 pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras that covered the exterior perimeter. Given the large crowds they attract, each football game, concert or other event has its share of unique challenges, including monitoring fan conduct, crowd management situations and dealing with medical emergencies. MetLife Stadium’s main goal in upgrading its surveillance system was to ensure a safe, secure environment that would contribute to a memorable guest experience. Incident prevention and monitoring were additional key goals of the project. MetLife Stadium staff members are challenged with trying to determine what happened after an incident occurred. There are often various versions and accounts from those involved and from independent witnesses. Clear recorded video is needed to reveal what actually happened. Prior to the new camera system being installed, MetLife Stadium used four PTZ cameras to monitor the seating bowl area and these cameras were only used reactively when an incident came to the attention of the stadium’s Command Center. With the new camera system, every seat in the seating bowl is monitored at all times. Being able to have their Command Center personnel go back in time and review everyone’s actions is an extremely valuable investigative tool for stadium security personnel and for public safety agencies. Among the stadium security
management team’s other goals are to identify and examine objects left behind, monitor security screening procedures, investigate slip-and-fall incidents, observe staff performance and provide surveillance for counterterrorism efforts.
SOLUTION:
Because MetLife Stadium was designed to be a network-controlled building, IP cameras were part of the original design. When it came time to install cameras to cover the seating bowl, IP was the only platform considered, according to Daniel DeLorenzi, Director of Security for MetLife Stadium.
“To run an analog system would have been cost-prohibitive due to cabling, and the cables would be single-purpose. If upgrades were necessary, the project would have to be completed all over again,” DeLorenzi said.
DeLorenzi and the rest of MetLife Stadium’s security management team turned to Robert McCabe, owner of Corporate Security Services, Inc., located in Edison, N.J., to assist in selecting IP surveillance components and to design and implement the video surveillance solution. After a careful evaluation process, an optimal surveillance solution was built around megapixel imaging technology from Arecont Vision to ensure wide area coverage with extreme detail and to enable forensic zooming on live and recorded video.
Corporate Security Services deployed more than 130 Arecont Vision megapixel cameras throughout MetLife Stadium, including MegaVideo® Compact 10-megapixel (MP) cameras located around the bowl of the stadium to provide a view of every seat in every section; SurroundVideo® panoramic 8MP cameras provide 180° coverage of entrances and common areas; and MegaDome® 2 3MP cameras with remote focus and wide dynamic range (WDR) are located in the stadium’s security entrance areas. Arecont Vision WDR cameras provide detailed video where bright and dark images exist in the same scene. The Arecont Vision megapixel cameras are controlled using Genetec Security Center, a unified video management system (VMS) which is monitored by a centralized security command center within the stadium.
Arecont Vision worked with Corporate Security Services’ designers to provide a layout of the camera locations required to cover the area, which McCabe says helped with the installation. In the end, all the cameras were installed in easily accessible and serviceable locations.
MEGAPIXEL BENEFIT:
Because of the high level of detail it provides, one Arecont Vision SurroundVideo panoramic camera covers the same area as multiple IP VGA resolution cameras. By using Arecont Vision cameras to reduce overall camera counts, MetLife Stadium’s security team was able to achieve its goal of implementing an unobtrusive high-performance video surveillance system. With a reduction in the total number of cameras implemented, the system can be more efficiently managed.
MetLife Stadium’s policy is to initiate real-time recording 24-hours prior to game day, at which time every camera within the stadium is recorded at its full frame rate. Incidents are recorded prior to, during and for several hours after a game or other event. This allows the security staff to easily search and play back detailed video of any reported incidents from any of the cameras to determine what happened.
The excellent image quality provided by the Arecont Vision megapixel cameras makes it possible for stadium security to identify individuals, and the high frame rates allow them to see actions that occur. Additional benefits of the Arecont Vision cameras include Day/Night video capabilities where mechanical infrared (IR) cut filters are used for clear images in low light, H.264 compression to reduce network and storage costs and Power over Ethernet (PoE) to reduce cabling costs.
Arecont Vision MegaVideo Compact series box cameras are available in 1.3MP to 10MP resolutions with features that include dual H.264/MJPEG encoding, fast frame rates, privacy masking, pixel binning to increase light sensitivity in 3MP, 5MP and 10MP models, extended motion detection grid, flexible cropping and PoE. They are available in color and Day/Night configurations.
SurroundVideo series megapixel cameras from Arecont Vision are all-in-one 180° and 360° panoramic solutions that are available in 8MP, 12MP WDR, 20MP and 40MP resolutions. Housed in environmental rated IP66 domes, the units feature dual H.264/MJPEG encoding, true Day/Night functionality, IR corrected megapixel lenses, privacy masking, extended motion detection, bit rate control, binning mode to increase light sensitivity in 12MP, 20MP and 40MP models, fast image rates and WDR in 12MP models.
Arecont Vision MegaDome 2 all-in-one cameras with remote focus and remote zoom are available in 1080p, 3MP, 5MP and 10MP resolutions. Features include an IP66-rated / IK-10 impact-resistant dome chassis with a 3-axis camera gimbal for easy adjustment, dual H.264/MJPEG encoding, integrated megapixel vari-focal lens, optional WDR in 1080p and 3MP models, pixel binning in 3MP, 5MP and 10MP models, total PoE and optional IR illumination, audio functionality and heater kit.
