Commercial Facilities Sector
The Commercial Facilities Sector includes a diverse collection of sites where people gather to conduct business, shop, live, travel, attend events, and participate in recreational and cultural activities. These facilities are an important part of daily life and the U.S. economy, ranging from office buildings and retail centers to hotels, entertainment venues, stadiums, and other public gathering places.
Overview
The sector encompasses a wide variety of privately owned and operated facilities and is organized into subsectors that include entertainment and media, gaming, lodging, outdoor events, public assembly, real estate, retail, and sports leagues. Facilities vary significantly in size, purpose, location, and security needs, from individual businesses to large venues capable of hosting tens of thousands of people.
Because many commercial facilities are designed to provide convenient public access and regularly accommodate large numbers of visitors, security and resilience present unique challenges. Facilities may depend on communications, energy, transportation, information technology, emergency services, water, and other critical infrastructure to maintain normal operations.
Protecting the Commercial Facilities Sector requires an all-hazards approach that considers cybersecurity, physical security, emergency preparedness, crowd and event safety, suspicious activity, natural hazards, and other potential disruptions. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security serves as the Sector Risk Management Agency for the Commercial Facilities Sector and works with owners, operators, and government partners to strengthen security and resilience.
