ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — People in a simulated incident command center got grim news of casualties and fatalities by radio.
It’s part of a scenario wrapping up three days of training that aimed to prepare area public safety agencies how to plan, manage and handle incidents in the context of sporting and special events.
That includes the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field.
“You try to practice like you’re going to play. The idea is to push us outside of our comfort zone,” said Green Bay police chief Chris Davis. “If we can deal with the worst-case scenario here in a training like this, then that will prepare us for what really happens in the real world.”
Participants ranged from local police and fire services to the FBI and Brown County Public Health officials.
“Our goal is to work with our partners at the NFL and the Packers to have a really smooth event that is a great time for everybody who comes to it,” Davis said. “In order of us to do that, those of us in public safety have to be ready, behind the scenes, to deal with whatever comes up.”
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service offered the three-day training for free through a grant. The course culminated with an exercise in managing an incident at the concert.
“Everything is about partnerships and relationships,” said James Burghard, an agency instructor with the extension service. “Building these way ahead of time helps us understand how we work together, our strengths and weaknesses and where we can build eachother up and how we can help eachother be successful through events like the NFL Draft.”
The draft is April 24 to 26 next year.
“How you prep and prepare for your event can have a major outcome on if there is are any issues or problems,” Burghard said. “That’s what we focus on here: How do you properly plan for those events? And in case there’s an incident, they’re all pre-prepared and pre-planned to deal with those eventualities.”
While area agencies are well versed in handling game days at Lambeau, Davis said this is something very different.
“The game has a beginning and an end all in a few hours. Everyone is in one space,” he said. “An event like the draft is different because you’ll have people spread out out across the entire footprint of the event.”