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More than a hundred thousand people are expected to head to New Orleans for Sunday's Super Bowl just weeks after the New Year's Day terror attack on Bourbon Street. Joseph King with the Gulf States Newsroom reports on the security preparations underway.
JOSEPH KING, BYLINE: The law enforcement presence in New Orleans is intense this week. There's already been more police around Bourbon Street ever since the attack. Now Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is using an executive order to add checkpoints.
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JEFF LANDRY: The Louisiana State Police will develop and publish to the public the specific geographical boundaries of the enhanced security zone around the French Quarter.
KING: This means starting Wednesday in the French Quarter, you can't carry ice coolers. Also, handbags larger than 4 by 6 inches are not allowed. Landry says the public has a part to play.
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LANDRY: Public safety is a team sport. Just like football, just like basketball, soccer, it's a team sport.
KING: He is urging people to routinely check social media for public safety updates, and full cooperation with law enforcement is required.
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LANDRY: If an officer at the enhanced security checkpoint in the Quarter asks to search your bag that you're carrying in excess of the size limitations, you are free to refuse it, but you are not free to enter.
KING: The same limitations will be in place at the Superdome for the game Sunday night. The Super Bowl is a SEAR 1 event, which stands for Special Event Assessment Rating by Homeland Security. It means it has federal law enforcement support, says Cathy Lanier, the NFL's chief security officer.
CATHY LANIER: A lot more visible law enforcement presence and a lot more hardened security perimeters.
KING: Meaning armored cars, surveillance drones, agents on rooftops and hundreds of law enforcement officers. Juliette Kayyem is a Homeland Security expert who worked for the Obama administration. She says keeping the game safe will not be as difficult as securing the French Quarter.
JULIETTE KAYYEM: It's a little bit, in a weird way, easier than Bourbon Street, which is open by design. A stadium is not open by design, and therefore it's easier to fortify, even though it's a much bigger event.
KING: The next big thing for New Orleans will be Mardi Gras on March 4, which the governor has already declared another high security event.
For NPR News, I'm Joseph King in New Orleans.
(SOUNDBITE OF KIEFER'S "GOLDEN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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