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A company headquartered in Martin City is making waves in the world of large-scale event security, claiming to have played a crucial role in the "safest Super Bowl in history."
Secure Passage, led by President Kirk Cerny, focuses on providing cutting-edge security technology and systems for large-scale public events, partnering with law enforcement agencies and government bodies of all sizes across the nation, coast to coast.
Cerny said the company has focused on cyber and physical security to keep people and things safe since 1996.
"We are very effective and proven at large-scale public events," Cerny said.
Cerny said the company has contracted with cities for a dozen previous Super Bowls.
Secure Passage's technology was also utilized at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, where the company's systems were running point for area law enforcement and various entities across the massive event.
“New Orleans went well because there were so many parties who were pulling the rope in the same direction," Cerny said. "We actually had the safest Super Bowl in history. It was the safest because the number of events, incidents that were happening in and around the stadium were confined in an amazing way."
Beyond the sheer volume of fans, the event also saw the presence of the President of the United States and other high-ranking federal government officials. Cerny credits the ability to correlate data from city, state and federal partners for the event's success.
"It made for a high-security, very intense event," he said. “We had a flawless Super Bowl, and the commanders who were there, the people with boots on the ground, said this worked."
Cerny said the Secure Passage is now planning for next year's Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California.
However, he also said the company is looking closer to home, setting its sights on the Kansas City area in 2026 with the World Cup.
“With FIFA and the World Cup coming to KC, we would certainly enhance the experience not only for the city but for the fans and the teams participating,” Cerny said. “We are making inroads with the Sports Commission and others involved putting on this big production.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, of Kansas' 3rd District, said the scale of the event can be difficult to imagine.
“The magnitude of this event is something that’s really hard for the human brain to even conceptualize," Davids said.
With roughly 600,000 soccer fans anticipated to come to the area for the tournament, Davids wants to ensure the area is ready to safely host the event.
“I think everybody is looking at this as an opportunity of how we come together and demonstrate what a great place this is to people," Davids said.
That’s what Cerny wants to do, too.
“It’s so much easier to work in your silo rather than collaborate," he said. "We bring those silos down. We help people collaborate. If they deliver a safer KC, we are all for it. In practice, we have to over-communicate, and the best way to do that is through using technology.”
He explained the home screen of the Haystax Operational Intelligence Center, which acts as a hub to display various categories tracking assets like the stadiums, hotels, people, fan zones, etc. with all incidents and reports in one place.
“So, if I see an unattended bag, I can take a snapshot of it, get it to the team, they can get the bomb squad going, it’s bing, bang, boom,” he said. “Rather than turn the radio to another channel, call one department, maybe turn it to another channel to get in touch with emergency management, its kinetic energy in motion.”
He said it’s about speed — including everyone rather than manually telling various departments, an invisible protection from a homegrown company.
“Less like a military exercise more like we are really going to a fun event,” he said.