Control Points

Regardless of the type or size of an event, it is the responsibility of the venue management and/or event organiser to provide a control point.

This may also be known as the event control room.

Such a facility should form the hub of the safety management team’s command, control and communications network during an event.

The control point is a multi-agency facility provided by the venue management to effectively manage the safety of the spectators attending an event.

This document is Annex C of Supplementary Guidance 03: Event Safety Management. It aims to provide an overview of the design and physical aspects related to the development of a control point. This document should be considered in conjunction with the Supplementary Guidance 03: Event Safety Management and the sixth edition of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (Green Guide), which provides further details on the functions, layout, command structure and other considerations.

The contents of this document are based on the Football Licensing Authority’s (SGSA’s predecessor) publication Control Rooms, published in 2005.

It must be noted from the outset that the content of this document is largely taken from the 2005 publication. Therefore, it will not include the latest developments on control point operations, particularly related to digital advances. In addition, the document focused on control points at football stadiums.

Despite this, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) feels the information contained in this document remains useful in developing the location and layout of a control point at venues. The SGSA will produce an up-to-date Control Points guidance document in due course.