Georgia World Congress Center public-safety team outlines staffing, mutual aid and planning needs ahead of Club Cup and FIFA events

Representatives of the Georgia World Congress Center Department of Public Safety briefed the Georgia House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on the department’s staffing, mutual‑aid arrangements and contingency planning for several high‑profile events including this year’s Club Cup matches and the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

The briefing focused on the department’s current capabilities — including 22 authorized sworn officers, a civilian security division, contract security, an emergency management office and an explosive‑ordnance‑disposal K‑9 team — and on how those resources will scale for events that bring tens of thousands of visitors to the downtown Atlanta campus.

“Georgia World Congress Center Department of Public Safety was codified … we are state officers,” said the chief of police (name not specified), describing the unit as a fully certified state police department that trains through Georgia POST and carries firearms. “We have over 3,000,000 people who come to our campus every year … we’re about the fifth biggest city in the state of Georgia when that happens.”

Committee members were shown that the campus handles more than 60 major events annually and that a single peak operation (stadium event plus FanFest and supporting activities) can produce a “city‑scale” security and traffic…