INSIDE LOOK: Fox News' helicopter, boat ride along with CBP
Fox News got a behind the scenes look of security preparations ahead of Super Bowl LVI.
Despite no credible security threats to this weekend’s Super Bowl LVI in the Los Angeles area, local and federal authorities have coordinated to tightly monitor activities inside and outside SoFi stadium to prevent any attacks — large or small — on what will be the region's largest event in some time, and the latest major event to take place amid the region's ongoing crime wave.
Sunday’s annual NFL championship game will require thousands of law enforcement personnel as fans and onlookers from around the world will flock to the Inglewood, California, venue to watch the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals.
In addition to an increased local police presence, more than 500 Department of Homeland Security personnel will provide land, sea and air security along with other federal agencies.
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A look toward the seats from the field level at SoFi Stadium. Fans attending Super Bowl LVI on Sunday will notice a large police presence, and multiple law enforcement agencies are coordinating to enforce tight security measures inside and outside the venue to ensure public safety. (Fox News/Ryan Gaydos)
The nature of the Super Bowl makes the event a target for attacks and criminal threats, Pete Eliadis, president of Intelligence Consulting Partners, told Fox News Digital.
Even instances that aren’t criminal can impact the festivities, he said, citing Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 when the game was stopped for more than 30 minutes following a power outage during play between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
"You saw the impact that that had. Imagine a terrorist event occurring," said Eliadis, who has worked in security operations for Super Bowls and NFL playoff games.
On Tuesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who grew up in the Los Angeles area, said his agency will focus on public safety, including the prevention of human trafficking.
"We have no information of a specific, credible threat against the Super Bowl," he said during a news conference with local and federal law enforcement officials. "What this is all about is planning and preparation to prevent any incident from occurring."
The Los Angeles area is hosting the Super Bowl for the first time in 29 years. (Fox News/Ryan Gaydos)
The Inglewood Police Department said hundreds of officers from multiple agencies will be deployed on game day. That includes around 400 members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Because the game is being played in the highly-populated Los Angeles region, other factors have to be considered when planning security measures, officials said.
"If the L.A. basin were a state, it would be the fourth-largest state in the country," Brandon Tucker, deputy director of air operations with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations in San Diego, told Fox News’ "America Reports."
"Anyone for political or religious reasons that want to do nefarious acts, they’re looking for a high-population density area, and that makes me nervous."
Because of the increased security in and around the venue, which is also home to the Los Angeles Chargers, the likelihood of an attack or major event is very low, Jeffrey Simon, a visiting lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles told Fox News Digital.
Most large events like the Super Bowl or Academy Awards are not targeted for large-scale attacks because of the level of security, which increases the chances for failure, he said.
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Fans make their way to SoFi Stadium before the NFC championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers in Inglewood, Calif. (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
A myth has arisen in terms of terrorist attacks during high-profile events, he said, because of tragedies like the 1972 Summer Olympic massacre in Munich, in which a group of Palestinian terrorists killed several Israeli athletes, and because of the 1996 bombing at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park that killed one and injured dozens.
"Much more security has been put in place since that time," Simon told Fox News. "One way to really look at the Super Bowl on Sunday is that SoFi Stadium will probably the safest place to be on the face of the earth."
To protect against threats from the sky, the Federal Aviation Administration will impose flight restrictions in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, limiting the operations of certain aircraft, including drones.
Sunday’s game comes amid a rise in crime across Los Angeles County. Last month, a homeless encampment near SoFi Stadium was cleared out after authorities received reports of a fire being set in the area.
Residents and visitors have also been targeted in violent robberies, including a Florida couple that was recently approached by two men wearing ski masks demanding the man’s luxury watch. He was shot in the leg when he refused to hand it over.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore told Fox News that Bengals fans shouldn’t be concerned.
"They’re safer in L.A. than they are in Cincinnati," he said.
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Aside from large-scale threats to public safety, law enforcement will have the task of keeping the peace between fans. Sunday’s game comes two weeks after a 49ers fan was hospitalized in a medically induced coma after he was found lying in the parking lot during the Jan. 30 NFC championship game between the 49ers and Rams at the Inglewood stadium.
"Let's say you have the Redskins (now the Washington Commanders) and the (Philadelphia) Eagles play … you know the fan base is going to go a little more crazy, so you amp up officers," Eliadis said.
In an action that prompted criticism, a homeless encampment near SoFi Stadium was cleared out days before the NFC championship game after authorities received reports of fire being set in the area. Days earlier in Inglewood, four people were gunned down and another was injured in an ambush attack during a birthday party.
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