The Goal

Cheyenne Frontier Days is a 10-day outdoor rodeo and festival that has been held annually since 1897. Known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration,” it hosts over 200,000 guests every year. Ingressotek was selected by the Cheyenne Frontier Days team to deploy advanced weapons detection systems for their 2021 event.

The Challenge

Prior to our engagement, the festival had never screened guests for weapons, but with a shortage of security personnel, the owner/operators knew they needed a new solution to deliver a safe and exceptional guest experience. Among the long lists of guests were several A-List talents. The first weekend included performances by Garth Brooks, Thomas Rhett, and Cody Johnson.

The Services

• Ingress design (screening + ticket scanning)
• Weapons detection
• Ingressotek concept of operations (CONOP)
• Security staff management

The Results

Ingressotek deployed 4 dual-lane Express® units and 4 single-lane OPENGATE units to screen an average of 40,000 guests per day for the daytime fair + rodeo activity. For the Garth Brooks concert, which took place at peak ingress time at the commencement of the event, 4,323 visitors were screened in 1 hour  at the Main Gate with 1 dual-lane Express unit. We had a 6% alert rate and restricted 7 firearms from entering the venue in that one hour alone. This confirmed our CONOP process was extremely effective for the security and staff while also providing an excellent guest experience. Throughout the 10-day experience, the Ingressotek team screened up to 400,000 guests with a 9% alert rate and kept a total of 64 firearms from entering the event.

The Ingressotek team was called into action as the first weekend progressed and staff shortages increased. After 3 days and nights onsite, our client called us requesting 15 additional ops staff to be added to the team within 24 hours. Our team fulfilled the call to ensure a positive outcome for the remaining 6 days and nights of events.

2022 Improvements

The Ingressotek team is proud to return in 2022. We started our planning process in November 2021 with the CFD Security Team. Working closely with the CFD Security Team to thoroughly update their entire gate ingress process. We extended their perimeter fencing throughout the venue to increase guest flow leading to redesigning their gate entry strategy and structure to allow for a seamless process and secure perimeter. In addition, our role expanded in 2022 to include 14 on-site Zone Leads who will manage all gates, training processes and the CFD Ops Center as well as deploying 12 single-lane OPENGATE units. Some of this year’s headliners include Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Dierks Bentley, and Sam Hunt. The Ingressotek team is poised for another successful year at Cheyenne Frontier Days.