Heightened Security Measures for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans Following Bourbon street attack
In the wake of the devastating New Year’s Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street, which claimed 14 lives, the NFL and federal law enforcement are ramping up security for Super bowl LIX in New Orleans. Officials have confirmed that the attack, where a man drove a truck thru crowded streets, has prompted meaningful changes to the security strategy for one of the nation’s most high-profile sporting events.
“We’ve increased our security posture significantly so that people can come here, they can see a strong law enforcement presence,” said Eric DeLaune, Special Agent in Charge of homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, who is leading federal coordination for the event.
The Super Bowl, scheduled for February 9, is expected to draw more than 125,000 visitors to New Orleans, just five weeks after the attack that also led to the postponement of the Sugar Bowl.Cathy Lanier, the NFL’s Chief Security Officer, acknowledged the impact of the incident on security planning. “I’d like to say it doesn’t change a lot in our security planning, but it does change things,” Lanier told ESPN. “Are we doing anything differently? Of course.”
A Multi-Layered Security Approach
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The enhanced security measures will be highly visible,with SWAT teams,armored vehicles,and special agents stationed on rooftops. Government surveillance drones and additional security cameras will monitor the city, while the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will patrol the Mississippi River. The transportation Safety Administration is also deploying more than 90 bomb-sniffing dogs.
“My goal was that you couldn’t walk a city block in downtown New Orleans without at least encountering one law enforcement official,” DeLaune said. “I’m not trying to make people afraid. I want people to see that we’re prepared.”
Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense and CIA director, described the attack as a “wakeup call” that “terrorism remains a real threat to our country.” federal officials have identified the attacker as a U.S. military veteran inspired by ISIS, highlighting the challenge of lone wolf threats. In response, law enforcement has added intelligence analysts to monitor potential risks.
Federal Support for a Tier One Event
Unlike the Sugar Bowl and other sporting events,the Super Bowl is classified as a federal Tier One event,receiving extensive support from agencies like the Department of Homeland Security,the FBI,and the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco,Firearms and Explosives.DeLaune noted that “hundreds” of federal officers will be deployed throughout the city to assist local and state law enforcement.”You’ll see plenty of uniformed people but there are going to be lots of plainclothes people in the crowds too,” DeLaune said. ”We want people to know that.”
Addressing Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
Following the attack, New orleans has been replacing street bollards, which failed to prevent the attacker from driving into the crowded street. The New Orleans City Council has launched an investigation into the city’s street barrier system. Lanier emphasized that while the NFL did not specifically request the bollard replacements, such upgrades are “all part of what a host city normally does.”
Key Security Measures for Super Bowl LIX
| Measure | Details |
|———————————-|—————————————————————————–|
| Law Enforcement Presence | SWAT teams, armored vehicles, rooftop agents, and uniformed officers |
| Surveillance | Drones, additional security cameras, and intelligence analysts |
| Waterway Patrol | U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the Mississippi |
| Explosive Detection | over 90 bomb-sniffing dogs deployed by the TSA |
| Infrastructure upgrades | Replacement of street bollards and investigation into barrier systems |
As New Orleans prepares to host Super Bowl LIX, the city is determined to ensure the safety of its visitors while addressing the vulnerabilities exposed by the recent attack. The heightened security measures aim to reassure attendees and demonstrate the city’s readiness to handle potential threats.’s my understanding that those bollards have not been in working order for some time and had been planned for replacement,” she said.
delaune said state and local law enforcement have since increased barricade protection on Bourbon Street and throughout the French Quarter in response to the attack.
“Barriers may not have been working. There may have been some other issues that played into the impact of this event on jan. 1,” he said. “But I can tell you the response is genuine. The response is as they want the city to be safer, they want Bourbon Street to be safer, and they don’t want to see an attack like this happen again.
“I can see where somebody might have said there could have been more done, but I can tell you now that the stuff being done is not because of a Super Bowl. It’s not because of Mardi Gras,” he said. “It’s because they genuinely are concerned about the safety and security of the citizens they serve, and they’re trying to make things better.”
The NFL started its security planning for the super Bowl 18 months ago and began building out the security perimeter five days after the attack, according to lanier. She flew to New Orleans within hours of the attack to receive briefings and returned this week to meet with law enforcement and to walk the perimeter of each venue, including the security barricades around Caesars Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the site of the NFL’s four-day fan experience.
A former police chief for Washington, D.C., Lanier compared Super Bowl planning to preparations for the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. “It’s the difference between Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, D.C. and the inauguration. It’s a fully different planning effort and different level of commitment of resources.”
The Super Bowl host stadium typically has a security perimeter three times the size of a regular-season game, limiting access to a small number of checkpoints, according to Lanier.
“In manny ways, the Super Bowl itself will have so much protection that it may be the safest place in the world,” said Chuck Wexler, a leading security expert and executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.
The challenge, according to wexler and other security experts, is securing all the other places fans may visit in the eight days leading up to the game. At last year’s Super Bowl in Las vegas, events were confined to a small area of hotels with pre-existing cameras and built-in security.
“It’s not like that in a city like New Orleans, where the Super Bowl is at the Superdome, two miles away is the convention center where the NFL fan experience is going, and another mile and a half is the NFL Honors at Saenger Theater,” said delaune, a Louisiana native. “And all of these people are wandering amongst those three places to the parties in the warehouse District, Frenchman’s Street, to parties on Bourbon Street throughout the French Quarter.”
Wexler said to prepare, planners study previous attacks like the Boston Marathon bombing as well as more mundane, but equally concerning, security threats like the gunfight that broke out at last year’s Super Bowl parade in Kansas City.
“It wasn’t a terrorist attack, it was individuals who had firearms,” Wexler said. “So we’re talking about what happened in New Orleans, but we should also be thinking about what happened in Kansas City and what happened in Boston, because each of those events really just add on to the security precautions that are necessary.”
DeLaune said law enforcement will be rolling out a public campaign this week to encourage people to speak up, whether they see something suspicious in person or online. He urged people everywhere, not just in Louisiana, to report tips.
“A lot of times people are intimidated by the process of reporting things as they’re concerned they’re going to look foolish if it turns out to be nothing,” DeLaune said. “We’re not concerned about that. We want you to know if you see something that concerns you, if there’s something odd or different, speak up. Let us know.”
