Citizens Bank Park Teams up with Evolv to Improve Experience for Phillies Fans and Security Staff

Salvatore DeAngelis has seen a lot over the past two-and-a-half decades working for the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2004, when the Phillies moved into Citizens Bank Park, DeAngelis was there to witness the opening. “Security in the form of metal detectors wasn’t in discussion at the time,” he recalls. “But as things changed throughout the country and the world, safety has been elevated as a top priority. With that in mind, we implemented walkthrough metal detectors at our stadium entrances about 10 years ago. We take safety very seriously at the park and have implemented various security layers, including periodic K-9 sweeps of the park." While the metal detectors performed their function, they had a negative impact on the fan experience. DeAngelis indicates that fans would complain— everything from the time they had to spend waiting in line, to missing first pitches, to the inability to get concessions before the start of a game. That's when Evolv came in. 

DeAngelis described the first instance they used the Evolv Express at a game. "When the first pitch occurred this year, I was watching our entrances and they weren’t flooded with fans like in the past. I could see the ground and all my fears were washed away. I knew we had made the right decision and Evolv was a positive step for our security posture." Through the implementation of the Express, the Philadelphia Phillies were able to achieve the following: 

• Shrink the security screening footprint by nearly 75% — going from about 50 walkthrough metal detectors to 9 Evolv Express systems
• Reallocate almost 75% of ingress security staff to other areas of the park for improved security
• Create a seamless, unintrusive security screening experience for fans—reducing time to complete a secondary check from minutes to less than 40 seconds

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