Event venues in Georgia, including sports arenas, have a duty to exercise reasonable care to keep their premises safe for visitors and prevent violent crimes, injuries and human trafficking. However, venues are not automatically responsible for every crime, injury or act of trafficking connected to an event.
Atlanta is a hub for human trafficking, having been ranked one of the top cities for these violent cases. This fact has never been more important to consider than this month – June 2026 – as Atlanta welcomes guests from around the world to the international soccer games.
Eight games are taking place in Atlanta over the next month, and as an already highly populated city (recently nearing 6.5 million residents), this influx of visitors will increase the crowded environments, anonymous faces and possible threats. Major sporting events create an environment where assaults, shootings, catastrophic injuries and human trafficking can thrive. The question remains: when attending one of these eight matches, does the venue have a legal duty to protect each and every fan?
What Do Event Venues Legally Owe Their Visitors?
Under Georgia law, venue owners and operators must exercise care to keep their premises reasonably safe. This obligation extends beyond the seats and floor to areas such as entrances and exits, restrooms, stairways and escalators, parking lots and decks, etc. While venues are not automatically responsible for every crime or injury that occurs on their grounds, Georgia law may hold an owner, operator or manager accountable when inadequate property maintenance or insufficient security contributed to the foreseeable harm. The important word here is may.
Under 2025 Tort Reform laws in Georgia, not only must all safety measures be taken to keep visitors safe and secure, but the owner, managers and employees must have known a crime could have been committed and yet chose to ignore those warning signs. A victim may need evidence of a particular warning, prior incidents or specific security lapses on the property that created a foreseeable risk.
What Types of Security Breaches Can Contribute to Violent Crimes and Human Trafficking in Georgia Event Venues?
Basic security measures must be in place at sports arenas to ensure daily visitors, and this summer’s international fans, can safely watch the games. The criminal and civil cases that come from negligent security claims focus not only the criminal’s misconduct but also on whether the venue’s own safety failures allowed or contributed to the attack or trafficking. When it comes to sports arenas, this includes both inside the arena and at tailgate parties, shuttle locations, fan festivals and other events and areas in the parking lot. Those safety failures could include:
- Unmonitored entrances and exits
- Inadequate security screenings
- Broken gates, locks or badge systems
- Failure to verify vendor, contractor or temporary-worker identities
- Understaffing
- Insufficient training to recognize trafficking indicators
- Broken, blocked or poorly positioned cameras
- Badly designed security lines
- Blind spots in parking decks, stairwells, hallways and restrooms
- Too few security officers for the size of the crowd
- No clear escalation process when someone appears threatened or controlled
- Unsafe parking and transportation areas
If those security measures aren’t in place and someone is attacked or trafficked in Georgia, the owner and/or the manager can be held responsible along with the criminal entity. If there are prior instances, warnings, treats and/or escalating disturbances, those signs should have indicated that increased security was necessary to avoid violent crimes from happening. When ignored, these crimes can be linked directly back to the owners and managers of these venues.
How Did Georgia’s 2025 Tort Reform Laws Make Things More Difficult for Victims of Crime?
Georgia passed major tort-law changes in 2025, including a more specific framework for negligent security claims. The law creates additional legal hurdles concerning how foreseeable the crime was, in what ways the property owner’s conduct allowed the crime to occur and what fault lands on the venue in addition to the criminal perpetrator. Prompt investigation is essential under the new law, so if you or someone you know has suffered from violent crimes or human trafficking in Georgia, please contact an experienced civil law firm like Isenberg & Hewitt as soon as possible.
While premises liability cases are far more difficult to prosecute now, victims should still come forward and share their story with experienced civil attorneys to determine if the case is viable.
Realistic Atlanta Sports Venue Scenarios
Scenario 1: Attack in a Parking Deck
A fan is assaulted after a soccer match in a poorly lit parking deck where cameras were broken and earlier crimes had been reported.
Legal question: Did the responsible property operator know of a foreseeable danger and fail to take reasonable security measures?
Yes. Crimes had been reported and they did not fix the poor lighting and broken cameras.
Scenario 2: Assault by an Intoxicated Guest
Security receives several complaints about an aggressive patron harassing women but allows the conduct to continue until someone is seriously attacked.
Legal question: Did the venue or its security contractor fail to respond reasonably to an escalating and identifiable threat?
Yes. Reports of an aggressive patron were ignored by staff resulting in an attendee being assaulted.
Scenario 3: Trafficking Indicators Are Repeatedly Ignored
Event employees observe an older person controlling a young companion’s identification, phone, movement and money. The young person appears frightened, is not permitted to speak independently and is moved repeatedly through poorly monitored areas. Multiple concerns are reported, but supervisors fail to follow established escalation procedures.
Legal question: Did the owner, manager or employee receive a sufficiently specific warning and fail to respond reasonably to a foreseeable danger?
Yes. Staff were aware of suspicious behavior and ignored the signs of trafficking.
Know the Silent Hand Signal That Victims Use to Ask for Help
The "Signal for Help" is a universal, one-handed, silent gesture used to alert others that a person feels threatened and needs assistance. See the video below for an example of how it's used. Venue staff should be aware of this gesture.
After a serious incident, evidence can disappear quickly. Surveillance video may be overwritten, temporary employees may leave and physical conditions may change. Victims should document the location, obtain witness information, preserve tickets and communications, request incident-report information and speak with an attorney promptly.
Atlanta’s summer of international soccer should be a celebration. Fans should be able to attend matches without being exposed to preventable danger. Event venues, property owners, security contractors and other businesses involved do not guarantee that no crime or injury will occur. They do, however, have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions within the areas they control and to respond appropriately when specific dangers become known.
If you were seriously injured or attacked at a stadium, arena, fan festival, tailgate party or parking facility, the circumstances deserve a thorough investigation. Isenberg & Hewitt represents victims of violent crime and serious premises-liability incidents throughout Georgia. Contact the firm to discuss whether negligent security, unsafe property conditions or another party’s conduct contributed to your injuries.