Pasquale Rotella of Insomniac Productions is pictured here with Pat Christenson from Las Vegas Events and Cory Meredith from Staff Pro (VT Photos)
The Huntington Beach, Calif., security firm responsible for providing security to some of the world’s largest events has been acquired by U.S. Security Associates (USA). Staff Pro Founder and President/CEO Cory Meredith will continue to run the entertainment security company and retain his current staff, offices and Staff Pro name. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Meredith said the acquisition will help Staff Pro continue to grow, noting “it’s much easier to expand because we’ll be utilizing the larger company’s infrastructure.” Staff Pro, which provides security for Coachella and Stagecoach in Indio, Calif., along with the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and the Long Beach (Calif.) Grand Prix currently employs about 5,000 part-time employees. The deal links Staff Pro with the fourth largest security personnel firm in the world, managing 52,000 employees who provide security services to 4,700 clients and operate 160 offices.
USA is headquartered in Roswell, Ga., and provides security services at airports, government facilities, hotels, hospitals and manufacturing plants. USA deploys a number of specialized units including intellectual property protection, digital forensics, canine contraband detection and executive security detail.
“It makes us a much bigger company and puts us in a much bigger position with more opportunity,” he said. “We knew that it was time for us to grow in size so that we could take Staff Pro to the next level. Now we can go into 160 cities and have a presence on the ground and infrastructure in place that helps us grow.”
Staff Pro’s new contracts include a new agreement for the University of Washington and the Pasadena (Calif.) Tournament of Roses Parade. Staff Pro has also had success in the EDM world, handling security for Live Nation’s HARD Events division, along with Insomniac Events like Winter Wonderland and Day of the Dead.
The announcement also comes as officials with Staff Pro adapt to the changes in the live entertainment industry. Recently, Staff Pro rolled out its Executive Services Team (EST), an elite unit of all black-clad security personal for high-end VIP areas inside festivals like EDC, Coachella and Stagecoach.
“It definitely enhances the guest services plan," said Thushan Rajapaksa, vice president of Staff Pro, during an Aug. 7 interview. "The whole industry is talking about the guest experience now, and when you have a high-profile area like that it's almost like adding suites or premium seating."
He said EST division is part security detail, part hospitality, noting the division functions "almost like a VIP host," with more than three-quarters of the time spent acting in a host function, and around 20 percent of their time spent checking credentials. "I think, in the future, I see security more and more as a function of guest services," he said.
Interviewed for this article: Cory Meredith and Thushan Rajapaksa, (714) 230-7200