The stadium gates will open in 90 minutes, and you expect tens of thousands of fans to fill the seats. A win in itself? Absolutely. But it also means you have a lot of challenges to overcome. You’ll need all your concession workers in place. You’ll also need well-trained people at each security post and efficient ticket scanners ready to welcome fans—and that’s just the beginning.
This isn’t the kind of staffing problem you can solve within 90 minutes. It requires months of planning. Are you prepared to meet fans’ needs when the pre-show countdown begins?
The Scale: Not Like Anything Else
While small-scale events can lean on standard hospitality staffing strategies to meet the needs of small-scale events. When you expect thousands, though, planning becomes a detailed logistics operation. You’ll need to coordinate hundreds of temporary employees during the event, and you don’t have much room for error. Think about it: if a restaurant has a bad night, you can pivot and recover easily. With a stadium, however, you risk ruining your reputation and losing a top-dollar contract.
At this scale, the entertainment industry gives you very little room for error. Look at the success of Live Nation. In 2024, it managed to earn $23.16 billion from 151 million fans attending nearly 55,000 events. The company has a robust staffing infrastructure to meet the needs of such large events. Do you have a venue operations workforce that can compete with that?
The No-Show Problem Is Built Into the Model
When you have hundreds of staff members coming to work at an event, you know some of those people won’t show up. That’s why effective agencies build no-shows into their stadium staffing solutions. By overbooking shifts by a small percentage, you ensure you have people to cover the no-shows.
Creating a staffing model that works well isn’t that difficult. Filling all of those positions, however, could prove challenging. Not surprisingly, venues lost many employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. When venues canceled events to protect the public, some of their workers found jobs elsewhere. Other workers were too worried about the ongoing pandemic to return to their jobs.
When venues reopened, they lost 40-50% of their part-time employees. The industry hasn’t fully recovered from that loss, making the no-show risk higher than ever. The right stadium event day staffing partner, however, can quickly fill any gaps to help ensure your event’s success.
What Understaffing Actually Costs
Perhaps it seems reasonable to operate without all the staff you expected. Does it really matter if a handful of people don’t come to work at a venue with 40,000 seats?
It absolutely matters. When you’re short-staffed, concessions lines get longer and longer throughout the event. Some people will look at the line and decide it isn’t worth the wait. You lose those sales when people don’t want to stand in long lines.
Long lines also make it harder for you to charge higher prices for concessions. One report shows that fans would spend 59% more money on food and beverages if they could cut their wait time in half. When it comes to big events, convenience comes at a premium.
Unfortunately, charging for premium services means you have to meet customer demands. Over 40% of fans say they’re willing to spend $250 on premium hospitality services. If you fall short of expectations, they’ll lose confidence and choose the cheaper option next time.
The Compliance Layer Most Staffing Partners Cannot Handle
Leaving money on the table is a significant concern. So is failing to comply with regulations. Your event needs a staffing agency that knows how to:
- Comply with local laws regulating alcoholic beverages
- Stay within guidelines while handling food
- Perform background checks on anyone who might work near minors or handle cash
And those are just the basics. Some staff members also need ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) training and security credentials to access behind-the-scenes spaces.
Missing any layer of compliance can lead to fines and unhappy customers.
Proactive vs. Reactive: What Each Looks Like on Game Day
Today’s stadiums need proactive staffing strategies that rely on real-time data to fill positions. The reactive approach will work fine during some events, but it will let you down eventually.
HireQuest Direct takes a proactive approach to stadium staffing to ensure your guests enjoy themselves in a safe environment. Find a HireQuest Direct location in your area so we can connect you with pre-vetted staff who know how to exceed expectations.
