Every year, millions of sports fans flock to stadiums around the country to cheer on their teams.

These sporting events are generally held at large venues that require constant maintenance and become crowded with people, vehicles, and vendors during game time. Like other facilities hosting crowds, arenas and sports facilities are exposed to a high number of liability risks. Lawsuits arising from crowd control issues, traffic and parking lot security, spectator or participant injury, or third-party vendor negligence can place the reputation and financial health of arena or stadium operators in serious jeopardy.

To responsibly host events for guests and participants, stadium owners need arena and stadium insurance tailored for their specific needs.

What Should Arena and Stadium Insurance Include?

Because sports arenas and stadiums are dynamic operations with various parties involved, insurance coverage needs to extend beyond property and equipment to include the fans in the stands, the staff running the show, and, in some cases, even the players on the field. To ensure sufficient coverage, most arenas and stadiums will need sports insurance that includes the following.

General Liability

Whether it is a ball flying into the stands or a fan tripping on the way to their seat, there are countless scenarios at sporting events that can result in bodily injury or property damage. To avoid expensive payouts for these mishaps, arenas and stadiums need to have General Liability coverage that includes:

• Bodily injury from slips, falls, and safety equipment flaws
• Participant legal liability
• Damage to rented premises
• Coverage for fireworks, amusement devices, or other unique operations
• Coverage for non-sports related events and activities such as concerts

Property Coverage

Because General Liability does not cover all property and equipment, stadium operators should also have Property Coverage that includes:

• Buildings
• Business Personal Property
• Business Income
• Equipment Breakdown
• Earthquake
• Flood

To minimize the risk of uncovered assets, seek a provider that covers various property types including owned, rented, and leased property under one policy. In addition, the same property policy will ideally cover losses due to third-party damage, theft and crime, fire, and the lost business income that may result from damaged property.

Automobile

Stadiums may employ drivers and delivery personnel, use utility vehicles within the sports facility, or provide owned or rented parking space to patrons. All of these represent operational risks. Accidents are especially likely in parking lots when hordes of excited fans try to leave their sporting events at the same time. Incidents can also happen when small utility vehicles transport people or supplies amidst crowds inside the venue. As such, auto insurance is a must.

Auto coverage should include protection for any business vehicles, garage keepers liability, and coverage for owned, non-owned, and hired vehicles.

Directors & Officers

Stadium directors can be the target of lawsuits arising from claims of misuse of funding, failure to comply with workplace laws, insufficient safety precautions, and more. These legal actions can target both the personal assets of the director and corporate stadium and arena assets. To cover losses and defense costs, consider Directors and Officers insurance for stadium leadership.

Although Directors and Officers coverage is not part of the Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) Pro Sports package policy, it is possible to add it as a separate stand-alone policy for qualified clients.

Additional Coverage Considerations

The above coverage areas make up the primary insurance considerations for any stadium or arena. However, sports arenas and the events they host come in many forms, and so do the risks. Depending on the venue type, events, and participating vendors, additional coverage may be needed to adequately cover risks. Here are some additional factors to consider before deciding on an insurance policy:

Does the arena have concessions? Will liquor be served at the stadium? Will fireworks be displayed? If so, specialized coverage will need to be written into the policy for these exposures.

Does the venue host camps, clinics, or workshops for young athletes? These will also require specialized coverage and risk management measures to minimize exposures.

Finally, because sports facilities are high occupancy destinations and are at times associated with national pride, they can be targets for attacks. Although a terrorist attack or other types of intentional crises are highly unlikely, sports arenas and stadium operators should consider endorsements for terrorism, crisis management, emergency response, image restoration, and counseling.

The PHLY Difference for Professional Sports Insurance

Philadelphia Insurance Companies is proud to provide coverage tailored to the unique needs of stadiums and arenas. As a carrier of Amateur and Professional Sports Insurance products, PHLY can provide coverage for a full range of participants and events hosted by sports venues.

The benefits of PHLY's broad sports insurance coverage include:

• Professional Sports General Liability Deluxe Endorsement
• Broadened definition of who is an insured
• Broadened definition of personal injury
• Amended definition of bodily injury to include mental anguish
• Liberalization clause
• Blanket additional insured where required by written contract and for grantor of franchise

Beyond providing broad and customizable coverage, PHLY is set apart by its superior financial stability. Our financial superiority is demonstrated with an AM Best rating of A++, a Standard & Poor's A+ rating, and consistent recognition as a member of Ward's 50 Benchmark Group of top-performing insurance companies.

What we are most proud of, though, is offering excellent customer service to our partner agents and insureds. Agents have direct access to their PHLY representative who serves as their partner, in writing a best-fit insurance policy and dealing with any legal concerns down the road. Our overall customer satisfaction rating consistently stands at 96 percent, and PHLY has been awarded six consecutive Confirmit ACE (Achievement in Customer Excellence) awards.

PHLY Loss Control and Risk Management Services for Arenas & Stadiums

We provide a wide range of industry-specific loss control and risk management services. For sports and arenas, these include the following:

Sexual abuse and molestation prevention training

Under the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 , organizations are now required to provide consistent training on prevention and reporting. To help sports centers and arenas stay ahead of this risk, PHLY partners with Abuse Prevention Systems to offer an online training program for abuse awareness, screening, policies, oversight, and more.

Discounted criminal background checks

Criminal background checks are required by law for stadium security, concession vendors, parking lot workers, and any coaches practicing in the facility. Through our partnership with IntelliCorp Records, we offer pre-employment screening and verification to help sports facilities ensure a safe work environment.

Defensive driver training

Automobile-related accidents are among the highest risk areas for stadium owners and operators. That's why we offer online training and assessments ideal for employees driving cars or small vehicles. Address the risk of automobile-related claims with defensive driver training for those who will be behind the wheel.

Contact PHLY for Stadium & Arena Sports Insurance

Our flexibility of coverage, outstanding customer service, and financial superiority make PHLY the ideal partner for stadium and arena insurance needs. Let us handle the risk so your stadium and arena clients can focus on the game. Contact your PHLY rep for more information on sports facility coverage.