ATLANTA — The impact that COVID-19 has had on sports and entertainment venues around the country has been unprecedented. However, facilities around the world are working to meet safety measures critical to bringing back sporting and live events.
The Atlanta Hawks announced that the team’s home venue, State Farm Arena, is the first sports and entertainment venue in the country to successfully become Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED on Thursday.
The announcement comes as a result of State Farm Arena addressing the critical need to establish confidence with sports fans and live event attendees, as well as players, performers, and employees in the age of COVID-19 and beyond.
Recently, State Farm Arena's facility was utilized to help Georgians vote during the election.
This verification process and platform was developed by digital health company Sharecare, with the support of CAA ICON, the world’s leading owners’ representative and strategic management consulting firm for public and private sports and entertainment facility owners/operators, and Oak View Group (OVG), a global advisory, development, and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries.
“For the last several years, we have worked closely with the Atlanta Hawks on our shared vision to improve the well-being of all Atlantans, and – for a myriad of reasons – the pandemic has required us to approach this differently than before,” Jeff Arnold, founder and CEO of Sharecare, said in a release. “In addition to supporting Hawks fans through the Sharecare app, we are proud to work with State Farm Arena to give people confidence that their in-arena experiences are safe and secure. We commend the Hawks and State Farm Arena on their health security verification as well as for taking a leadership position among sport and live event venues to create a culture of accountability as we work toward recovery.”
Sharecare’s solution to navigating a safe entertainment environment requires live sports and entertainment venues to verify their health protocols on an ongoing basis across more than 140 expert-validated standards and over 600 checkpoints, including health and hygiene protocols, air and water management, physical distancing, the attendee experience, and health safety communication with patrons and employees.
The report later revealed participating venues have the option to track daily employee health screening results and provide relevant tools for fans and visitors including clinically validated health screeners and information and updates on that facility’s guidelines.
This health security verification also comes with an easily identifiable “seal of approval” – the Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED badge – for stadiums, arenas, and live event venues to display on their official websites and on-property.