The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The raising of the national security level from yellow to orange added some new wrinkles to planning for the Sugar Bowl, but nothing that cannot be handled, New Orleans’ director of homeland security said.
Perhaps the biggest change, Terry Ebbert said, will be the presence of the 62nd Civil Support Team, a Louisiana National Guard unit that specializes in responding to chemical or biological attacks. The unit, based in Carville, was not part of the initial Sugar Bowl security plan, but Gov. Foster’s declaration of a state of emergency allowed the group to be mobilized for the event.
The emergency declaration also will provide money that the city can use to bring in more law enforcement officers and expand their hours, Ebbert said.
“This will go a long way toward covering overtime costs,” he said.
The city’s budget for the event, as well as the New Orleans Police Department’s anticipated troop strength, should not be affected by the increased threat level, Ebbert said. For security reasons, the city has not disclosed the number of officers it plans to deploy for the game.
More than 72,000 spectators are expected for the BCS national championship game between No. 2 LSU and No. 3 University of Oklahoma at the Superdome.
Ebbert declared this week that the city will be ready on all fronts, just as it was in February 2002 when it was the site of the nation’s first Super Bowl to follow the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Protection for that game included chain-link fences surrounding the Superdome, with security checkpoints in the streets. While the police presence this time will be substantial, it will not reach the level of that Super Bowl game, Ebbert said without giving details.
Coming just months after the country’s worst terrorist attack, that game was declared a national special security event by the White House, and the U.S. Secret Service was brought in to coordinate security.
The Sugar Bowl will receive no such designation, leaving the bulk of security planning to the New Orleans Police Department. The federal government’s role will be typical for such an event, Ebbert said, with the local FBI office providing support by closely monitoring intelligence about possible terrorism activity.
Even before the threat code was raised, the city was beefing up security plans due to the presence of LSU in the big game, Ebbert said. Because of the proximity of Baton Rouge and the large number of LSU backers in the region, Ebbert said the city is bracing for as many as 100,000 fans to descend on the city without tickets.
While some of those fans may try to buy scalped tickets for the game, most will be content to watch the game in a local bar and join the party afterward.
“When LSU got into the game, it presented a whole new level of concerns: traffic concerns, street closures, RV parking, tailgating parties, you name it,” Ebbert said.
While the large crowds expected to fill the streets for the game won’t heighten terrorism concerns, Ebbert said, they will present the potential for the rowdy behavior that has become increasingly common in big-time college sports.
“We’ve seen some of the things that have happened in other cities after championship games,” Ebbert said, “and we don’t want that happening.”