College students learned about the risk management process for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans during a tour of the facility Saturday.

About 20 students were invited by the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. Student Advisory Council to participate in the tour, led by Ross J. Bourgeois, assistant chief of the public safety department for SMG, the company that manages the Superdome and more than 230 other facilities worldwide.

Mr. Bourgeois spoke about managing and mitigating risks at the home of the National Football League's New Orleans Saints, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, concerts and other events.

Slips, trips and falls make up the majority of claims, so when Superdome staff members “see trip hazards, spill hazards or anything slippery on the floor, our employees call it in and wait there at that spill until housekeeping gets there to clean it up,” Mr. Bourgeois said.

It makes sense that a large facility would have so many slip, trip and fall claims because “those are pretty common risks,” said Lauren Evans, finance and risk management and insurance student at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Ms. Evans said she was interested to learn that, as a result, Superdome ramps were coated with a special paint that contains sand to create a slip-resistant surface.

But for the Superdome, which has hosted seven Super Bowls, most recently in 2013, the “greatest exposure would be an act of terrorism,” Mr. Bourgeois said.

Referencing the power outage that took place during Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, Mr. Bourgeois said there was a moment that he suspected it was an act of terrorism.

“That was a hairy few minutes, but everyone was remarkably calm,” he said, adding that when the referees asked if they should remove the teams, he cautioned against it as it would send the wrong message.

Having 80,000 people in one location makes the Super Bowl “a highly visible target for a terrorist organization,” said Andrew S. Kovacs Jr., Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based loss control manager for FARA Insurance Services, the Superdome's third-party administrator.

Mr. Kovacs, who greeted the students at the start of the tour, said it's important for future risk management professionals to realize that “identifying risks doesn't mean you're limited to a certain number of things. You have to expand your awareness of potentials. I hate to say 'think outside the box,' but it's a real practical thing when it comes to risk management and assessing risk.”

Students also had the opportunity to view the Superdome's Hurricane Katrina exhibit.

About 30,000 people took shelter at the Superdome during Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. Despite holes blown in the roof and no electricity, the facility sustained no structural damage. However, Mr. Bourgeois said the Superdome will never again be used as a shelter.

“It was eye-opening to see the intense damage,” said Corey Bledsoe, risk management and actuarial science major at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. “Obviously, from a risk management standpoint, it makes sense” that the Superdome won't be used as a shelter again. “To have that many people in the stadium, it's not feasible, especially when there's no electricity, water or food.”

Calling the Superdome “one of the most iconic and storied facilities in the country, if not the world,” Mr. Bourgeois said he hopes the students “take away that there's no magic bullet. Everything we do here is tailored to a specific event.”