NFL and law enforcement officials are in New Orleans working through a modified plan for increased security in the city ahead of Super Bowl LIX.
The response and amended plan are directly correlated to the New Year’s Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street, when a man drove a truck into a crowd and killed 14 people.
New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl on Feb. 9. Crowds typically begin flooding the area throughout the week before the Sunday night game, attending celebrity and corporate events and festivals for fans.
In an interview with ESPN, Eric DeLaune, the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans who is leading federal coordination for Super Bowl, said “security posture” increased significantly after the attack.
Cathy Lanier, Chief NFL Security Officer, told ESPN the security detail and officer presence will be impossible to miss because it will involve everything from SWAT team members, armored vehicles, officers on rooftops, surveillance drones and extra security cameras. Customs and Coast Guard officers are tasked with patrolling the Mississippi River.
“My goal was that you couldn’t walk a city block in downtown New Orleans without at least encountering one law enforcement official,” DeLaune told ESPN. “I’m not trying to make people afraid. I want people to see that we’re prepared.”
