ARLINGTON — Dallas-Fort Worth area mayors attended a strategy session for the 2011 Super Bowl in North Texas on Monday, and learned more about keeping fans and players safe.
Stadium security will start in the sky.
An estimated 1,500 private aircraft are expected to touch down for Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, ferrying titans of industry on corporate jets and wealthy fans from around the world.
Bob Porter, manager of Arlington Municipal Airport, explained that smaller, outlying airports will have to be utilized to deal with the influx. "The FAA is considering putting in temporary towers to handle all the aircraft that's expected," he said.
But no matter who they are, if fans don't get to the airports near the stadium by 4 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, they'll be locked out of the skies. The FAA is planning to enforce a no-fly zone until midnight within a 10 mile radius of the stadium. Flights up to 30 miles away will be restricted.
Everyone from dignitaries to assistants will have to go through a security screening to get back on their planes. "You would actually be wanded with a metal detector comining in, there would be a manifest of the passengers on board you would be checking off," Porter explained.
On the ground, representatives of major area law enforcement agencies will be in undisclosed locations, ready to direct any response needed with massive manpower. "Every officer in North Texas will somehow be connected to the Super Bowl on game day," said Arlington Police Chief Theron Bowman.
Cities will direct their own security, but they'll also take direction from the Super Bowl 2011 Executive Public Safety Committee. Committee members include police and fire chiefs from Arlington, Dallas, Irving and Fort Worth, along with an FBI agent and an NFL representative.
Chief Bowman addressed North Texans sensitive to possible threats, after enduring both the Fort Hood killings and the recent alleged terrorist plot against a downtown building.
"We are working diligently to ensure this is the absolutely safest place it can possibly be," he said. "We don't worry about those scenarios here."
E-mail chawes@wfaa.com
