Super Bowl Security ‘Top Priority’ Amid Global Crises, NFL Says
Whether the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers win next Sunday’s Super Bowl, two things are certain: It will be 2024’s most watched television broadcast in the U.S., and it will be among the world’s most secure sporting events.
Every year the Super Bowl is watched by more people in the U.S. than any other broadcast, and it’s not even close. More than 115 million viewers tuned into last year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. That was more than twice the second-most watched broadcast, which, like all the 20 most-watched broadcasts in the U.S. last year, was an NFL game.
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More than any other sporting event, the Super Bowl symbolizes American culture. That presents a security risk, and one for which the NFL spends years preparing.
“The safety of our fans, players, and club and venue personnel at all NFL events is our top priority,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Sportico. “We have the utmost confidence in our comprehensive security plans.”
McCarthy explained the league’s plans for this year’s game at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium reflect collaboration with dozens of agencies spanning local, county, state and federal governments. Among the key players are the Department of Homeland Security, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, Secret Service, the FBI, ATF, Customs and Border Patrol, ICE, Clark County (Nev.), the Clark County Fire Department and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
DHS has a special designation for the Super Bowl, with the agency last year supplying more than 600 personnel for support of air, venue, cyber and infrastructure security and “real-time situational awareness.”
CISA, which is part of DHS, conducted a tabletop exercise last fall with personnel from the NFL, Allegiant and other stakeholders to evaluate cybersecurity response capabilities and means of protecting the event. The NFL also hires its own security personnel for the big game and for related events. Those who are among the more 70,000 attending Super Bowl 58 should review security procedures on what they can and can’t bring into Allegiant.
McCarthy further stressed the Super Bowl’s security plans are “continually reviewed” and, if necessary, adjusted and enhanced.
Security is of particular interest this year. Las Vegas has been a target of a home-grown attack: the 2017 mass shooting at a music festival that killed 60 and wounded more than 400. And the current alignment of international crises is disturbing. The Israel-Hamas War, the Red Sea crisis, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Tower 22 drone attack involve American interests, including personnel, assets and policies.
They have led to threats against the U.S.
In December, Hamas senior spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri bluntly said, “We need violent acts against American and British interests everywhere … they must pay a price for the blood of our women and children who are being killed.” Iran’s U.N ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, recently warned his country would “decisively respond” to the U.S taking action against Iranian-backed militia groups that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan. This past weekend, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they “will meet escalation with escalation.”
None of these and other threats necessarily mean an attack on U.S. or allies’ soil is more likely, but they elevate concerns. Although DHS’ national terrorism advisory system hasn’t recently issued a specific advisory, some partner agencies abroad perceive a higher threat. The United Kingdom’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre and the Security Service finds the current threat to the UK from terrorism is “substantial.”
Baird Fogel, the partner in charge of Eversheds Sutherland’s San Francisco office, negotiated energy deals for Allegiant and its practice facility in nearby Henderson. He is intimately familiar with the stadium—the first 100% renewable-powered major sports stadium in the U.S.—and its capacities.
Fogel is confident Allegiant is up to the task of offering a secure venue.
He explained Allegiant’s marquee tenant, the Las Vegas Raiders, “are meeting the maximum security protocols required by the NFL.” To that end, security efforts include “implementing a 300 foot ‘hard’ perimeter around the facility (as opposed to the standard 100 feet), establishing multiple vehicle checkpoints (or VACIS) that will include the vetting of all service, VIP and talent transportation, and utilizing state of the art entry security at all five points of entry combining facial recognition and metallic sensor technology.”
Michael Mazurczak, a member at Melick & Porter in Boston who has worked on NFL stadium security issues, underscored “security at NFL stadiums is robust.”
He further stressed that “there are multiple levels of perimeter screening” and reminded fans of an old, but important adage: When they “see something,” they should “say something.”
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