The Minnesota Twins Hit a Home Run in Safety With AlertMedia

Protecting the Players, Fans, and Staff of a Major League Baseball Team

Founded in 1901, the Minnesota Twins take their name from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Fast forward more than a century, this Major League Baseball (MLB) team now hosts an average of 2 million fans each year at Target Field, their home stadium in downtown Minneapolis. In addition to baseball games, the 38,000-capacity Target Field also hosts a wide range of events, including concerts, conventions, and community events throughout the year.

Safeguarding star athletes, millions of fans, and regular and seasonal employees in bustling public spaces presents a formidable challenge. Jeff Beahen, Senior Director of Security for the Minnesota Twins, draws on his wealth of public safety experience as a former police chief to meet this challenge head-on. During his law enforcement career, Beahen had access to a remarkable network of threat intelligence sources—and he recognized early on, as the Twins’ security leader, that these types of insights would be vital to strengthening their security posture.

To improve emergency communication and response coordination for the Minnesota Twins, Beahen knew he needed powerful technology and dependable intelligence to keep the team and fans safe. After witnessing the success the team’s owner, Pohlad Companies, had with AlertMedia, the Twins began using the integrated threat intelligence and emergency communication solution. They quickly saw the benefits of this partnership and started identifying and addressing potential risks.

Gaining Access to Real-Time, Accurate Threat Insights at Home and Away

Before AlertMedia, the Minnesota Twins security team received information about potential threats that wasn’t always reliable. “We’ve dealt with a great deal of civil unrest here in Minneapolis,” explains Beahen. “During riots and protests the city has seen, the information on social media, and sometimes even local media, hasn’t been accurate.”

The Twins had to find a source of reliable, trustworthy, timely threat intelligence to prevent missing a legitimate threat and wasting resources on false alarms. “The biggest challenge in managing a security operation where you’re responsible for millions of fans and thousands of employees is: How do you get the intelligence data and analytics you need to keep everybody safe?” says Beahen.

In addition to ensuring the safety of players, fans, and employees at Target Field, Beahen and his team need to protect players when they’re on the road. Out of 162 baseball games per season, the Minnesota Twins play 81 away from home. “Ensuring the safety of professional athletes can be a unique challenge because they’re high-profile—they can have overzealous fans and autograph seekers,” says Beahen. “They need to know we’re capable of keeping them safe at all times and in every location.”

Hence, the Twins need an emergency communication solution that can help protect players and fans in Minneapolis and provide timely, relevant threat intelligence as the team travels to spring training in Florida, opponents’ fields, and community events. In the past, the Twins used emergency communication software provided by an MLB vendor. However, when the vendor went out of business, the organization’s safety and security were on the line until Beahen’s team found another solution.

Integrating Threat Intelligence With an Easy-To-Use Communication Solution

Facing a pressing need to implement a dependable emergency communication solution, the Twins turned to their security counterparts at Pohlad Companies, the team’s parent company. Pohlad Companies confidently recommended AlertMedia, and the Twins were able to implement the solution in only a few weeks.

Initially, the Twins used AlertMedia only to create and send emergency notifications, but they soon discovered its broader potential. “While we started using the platform to send notifications to employees, we soon discovered it could also offer real-time threat detection, analysis, and alerts. The more we dug into AlertMedia, the more value we uncovered,” explains Beahen.

To keep the security team and key stakeholders informed of potential threats, Beahen created a targeted distribution list within AlertMedia. The list includes the team’s public and private security staff, senior leadership, baseball managers, and the first aid team. “If I see something relevant to the stadium or team as a whole, I’ll disseminate that by sending an alert to that group,” says Beahen. “And even when it’s not strictly relevant to the stadium, I get feedback that they’re glad I alerted them.”

For Beahen, having a single solution integrating threat intelligence with emergency communication has made his work much more manageable. “If I can narrow the scope down and use a reliable, accurate system that works well, it makes my job much simpler,” he says. “I don’t need to monitor nine or 10 different screens or apps on my phone. Simple is better.”

AlertMedia has also made it easier for the Twins security team to avoid potential threats when traveling in unfamiliar environments. “AlertMedia’s mobile app is a game-changer,” says the team’s Director of Security, Charles Adams. “Wherever we go, we’re armed with live threat intelligence at our fingertips. Whether navigating around road closures or bracing for severe weather, having timely and pertinent information about potential hazards gives us a leg up on our response.”

And it’s not just the quality of data they appreciate but also how intuitive the AlertMedia platform is. “There are a lot of very robust solutions out there,” says Beahen. “But because they’re so expensive and complex to use, you might only have one or two people monitoring the channels. And that doesn’t provide the level of security and safety we need.”

With AlertMedia, the Minnesota Twins can quickly and efficiently communicate with stadium staff about critical events. “Success depends on the ability to get everyone the information they need as soon as possible,” says Beahen. “Being able to put out an alert within mere seconds is key to our success in maintaining a safe and secure stadium.”

Developing a Proactive, Mobile-Ready Approach to Safety and Security

Since the Twins started using AlertMedia, they’ve had access to relevant threat insights, which have already contributed to countless wins. “When there were protests in downtown Minneapolis in 2023, I received an alert from AlertMedia and could monitor the updates in real-time,” says Beahen. “At one point, the protest was heading towards the entrances on the east side of Target Field. Knowing that meant I could create a plan for how to secure that side of the stadium. Fortunately, the protesters turned around, but if I hadn’t had that information beyond what we could detect visually, we would have been clueless.”

AlertMedia’s geofencing feature also allows focused monitoring of areas of interest, ensuring relevance without inundating the security team with unnecessary alerts. “I don’t always need to know everything that’s going on in the greater metropolitan area, but I do need to know what’s going on within a mile of our stadium. So, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, I receive notifications on my phone that tell me what’s going on near Target Field,” says Beahen.

Since the Twins organization is highly mobile and events aren’t limited to traditional business hours, the ability to manage critical events on the go using AlertMedia’s full-featured mobile app has proved invaluable. “I’m walking this 12-acre ballpark for 10 to 14 hours, clocking up to 32,000 steps per game,” says Beahen. “I’ve got my phone and my radio—that’s it. So, for me, AlertMedia’s mobile app is crucial. I need an instant link to information, and the mobile app allows me to maintain that link.”

This mobility extends to away games, where Adams depends on the mobile app for critical threat insights. “When I’m with the team, the mobile app may be my only lifeline to intelligence data and communication,” he says. “I’m not at my desk—I’m with the team in a hotel, bus, or plane. But I still need to keep them safe, and that’s what AlertMedia allows me to do.”

These live, location-based safety alerts ensure the security team stays informed of emerging threats that may impact staff or players. “Knowing what’s occurring in our stadium on a non-game day is great—but that’s not where my players and staff are,” says Beahen. “We need real-time, relevant data for Miami, New York, Chicago, Detroit, or anywhere else the team is playing. Access to that intelligence is one of the greatest benefits of AlertMedia for our organization.”

Stepping Up to the Plate to Protect the Entire Minnesota Twins Community

What began as an emergency communication system has become a cornerstone of the Twins’ security strategy. “AlertMedia is like a Swiss army knife in your pocket. It doesn’t just do one thing. It does everything. And the more parts of the knife we unfold, the more value AlertMedia has for us,” says Beahen.

With round-the-clock access to reliable, human-verified threat intelligence, Beahen can swiftly assess the proximity and severity of potential incidents. “Previously, I’d have to wait days to see this information in the newspaper. Now, I receive it instantly through the mobile app,” he says.

Armed with immediate insights, the Twins security team can craft a proactive, well-informed response. “It’s easy to react after the fact,” says Beahen. “But when we have threat intelligence as risks evolve, we can develop a plan to actively mitigate or even prevent potential threats. That feels like a home run.”

But Beahen doesn’t plan on stopping there. With AlertMedia at the center of the Twins’ safety and security practices, his long-term vision involves extending critical information to neighboring organizations. “The Twins are deeply embedded in the local community, and we believe in the power of collaboration,” he says. “If we see something, we say something. I want to share the insights we receive with others downtown to make our entire community safer.”