It Takes an Army to Monitor a Big Event in the ‘Land of the Free’
Super Bowl 60 is monitored by a literal army of law enforcement and military.
Historically, there is usually only one American event that has a higher national security level than a presidential inauguration. It’s the Super Bowl.
On Sunday, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara will be filled with tens of thousands of fans, athletes, support staff and members of the media. And they’ll be monitored by a figurative and literal army of law enforcement and military.
In 2016, I covered Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium. I’ve never seen that level of security before or since — starting from the moment I got onto the media shuttle from San Francisco to the South Bay. We were instructed by NFL staff to flip our media passes over to hide our photos. When asked why, we were told it was to prevent anyone from copying our passes. It seemed unlikely to me that someone passing by on Mission Street was going to take such a clean photo of my media badge that they could make a facsimile, but the unsmiling staff were insistent. I did as I was told.
Upon arrival at Levi’s Stadium, we got our first look at the police checkpoints stopping cars from getting near the venue. Camo-colored Humvees were parked everywhere, and troops in fatigues were watching every corner. It was like entering a war zone.
Then, there was the security screening. It was unlike any other I’ve experienced as a member of the media. Camerapeople were taking apart their gear bags, unloading every piece for inspection, before running everything through scanners. I remember thinking it was like going through security at the airport. Later, I learned it was exactly that: The NFL worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to scan all cargo going into the stadium, as well as some of the Super Bowl week events in San Francisco.
Inside and outside the stadium, practically every major law enforcement agency was on patrol. Unseen snipers watched. Air and Marine Operations aircraft buzzed overhead, enforcing no-fly restrictions over the stadium on game day. FBI agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, walked the streets and concourses.
In 2016, the inclusion of ICE barely made a ripple, but with the Trump administration’s deadly crackdown on immigration, fears around the presence of ICE officers in Santa Clara have been high in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. For Super Bowl 50, ICE investigation agents were part of a team that was tasked with finding and seizing fake NFL merchandise. This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said it has been told “there will be no immigration enforcement tied to the game.”
Right now, security operations continue in the lead-up to the game. Scientists are sampling cargo coming through the Bay Area’s ports. Aircraft with the ability to detect nuclear radiation have taken passes over the region, looking for weapons. Local law enforcement is locking down routes close to the stadium. Even the Coast Guard is on standby. No place in America, short of the White House, is as blanketed with law enforcement.
For what it’s worth, Super Bowl 50 went off without a hitch: Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyonce pulled off a remarkable halftime show, Guy Fieri fed the hungry masses, and the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10.
https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/santa-clara-security-21331401.php