Beyond the Stadium: SAFE Bar Network and TEAM Coalition Announce Strategic Partnership

Our partnership connects sports and entertainment venue-focused responsibility efforts with community-based hospitality training to support a safer, more positive guest experience

SAFE Bar Network and TEAM Coalition have formed a new strategic partnership designed to strengthen safety both inside large-scale venues and across the hospitality communities that surround them.

TEAM Coalition works directly with sports and entertainment venues and other industry partners to promote responsible alcohol service and positive fan experiences. SAFE Bar Network works with bars, restaurants and hospitality teams in the surrounding community, providing practical training focused on active bystander skills, preventing overconsumption and harassment, de-escalation and culture change.

Together, the organizations see an opportunity to create a more connected approach to safety for fans and guests throughout their entire experience.

“TEAM Coalition is already doing important work inside venues, and SAFE Bar Network can help extend that same commitment to safety into the bars, restaurants and hospitality spaces around them,” said Haleigh Harrold, Executive Director of SAFE Bar Network. “A fan’s experience does not begin and end at the stadium or arena. This partnership gives us an opportunity to help create safer experiences throughout the whole night out.”

The partnership grew out of conversations between the two organizations about how their work could complement one another rather than overlap. TEAM Coalition leadership also had the opportunity to observe SAFE Bar Network training firsthand before the partnership was finalized.

The long-term opportunity is straightforward: TEAM Coalition can continue equipping venues with tools that support responsible alcohol service and positive fan experiences, while SAFE Bar Network helps train hospitality teams in the surrounding community. That creates a broader network of people with the skills and confidence to recognize concerning situations, step in when appropriate and help prevent harm.

“Consistency is the key when encouraging responsible behavior involving alcohol. This partnership draws a bigger circle around the guest experience, helping to ensure the hospitality community is aligned with the awareness, insights, and expertise necessary to provide consistent, reasonable efforts for safety in an alcohol-serving environment,” said Jill Kiefer, Executive Director of TEAM Coalition.

For both organizations, the goal is not simply more training. It is a better overall experience for the people moving through these spaces.

“When fans and guests encounter the same commitment to safety whether they are inside a venue, grabbing dinner beforehand or visiting a bar afterward, that matters,” Harrold said. “That is the kind of culture we want to help build.”

SAFE Bar Network and TEAM Coalition will continue identifying opportunities to bring this complementary approach to communities where sports, entertainment and hospitality play an important role in the local experience.

About SAFE Bar Network

SAFE Bar Network is a national nonprofit that helps alcohol-serving venues create safer, more welcoming environments for staff and guests. Its training gives hospitality professionals practical active bystander and de-escalation skills to help prevent overconsumption, harassment and other forms of harm.

Learn more at safebarnetwork.org. 

About TEAM Coalition

Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM) Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit alliance of nineteen member organizations united by a shared mission to enhance the entertainment experience, provide effective alcohol management training in public assembly facilities, and promote responsible alcohol consumption through the use of positive messages that reward responsible behavior and help to reduce negative alcohol-related incidents both in facilities and on surrounding roadways, recognizing that the vast majority of fans are responsible. 

Learn more at TEAMCoalition.org.