Current:Home > MarketsTaylor Swift may attend the Super Bowl. Is security around Allegiant Stadium ready? -MoneySpot
Taylor Swift may attend the Super Bowl. Is security around Allegiant Stadium ready?
View
Date:2025-04-18 21:59:41
LAS VEGAS ‒ The Super Bowl 58 security team is ready for Taylor Swift if she does decide to make an appearance, according to officials.
While the Sunday game is designated as a SEAR 1 high-risk event by the Department of Homeland Security, officials told members of the media on Wednesday that there are no known specific or credible threats to the game or any of the surrounding events, and no known additional threats related to Swift.
Security officials are already “extraordinarily vigilant” when bringing together 65,000 people in one stadium, even without Swift’s presence, said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Our priorities (are) of safety and security for everyone in attendance, and that is what we are focused upon. And when there’s an additional celebrity who will bring more attention, we are already at a heightened state of vigilance,” Mayorkas said.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt: Swift ‘obviously’ security issue
While officials say they are well-prepared, Swift is "obviously a security issue anywhere she goes," Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt told SiriusXM Tuesday.
SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.
But Hunt noted that Swift's security team has experience moving her in and out of stadiums after the regular season, when Swift attended a dozen NFL games to cheer on her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
“She has a really talented security team," Hunt said. "They liaison with our security team, and we make sure we get her into and out of the stadium safely.”
MORE:Travis Kelce was one of NFL's dudeliest dudes. Taylor Swift shot him into the stratosphere.
Security around Las Vegas for Super Bowl
Sports security experts say the Super Bowl is always considered a potential target by bad actors, but that’s especially true this year given the United States’ role in recent conflicts in the Middle East.
“There are so many different parties that want to inflict harm to America. What better way to generate publicity than one of the biggest games in the United States?” said Gil Fried, a professor at the University of West Florida and a specialist in sports facility management.
“I think the fact that Taylor Swift is there will enhance how this target could be more attractive,” he added.
Despite the concerns, Fried said the people in charge of security at the game “know their stuff.”
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said security officials are "well-prepared," noting that preparations started as soon as the event was announced.
“I would feel comfortable bringing my family to the game,” Fried said. "That's probably the gold standard. Most of the time, I would not feel comfortable taking my family or young kids, grandkids, to an NFL game."
And Las Vegas' history of hosting large events makes it well-equipped to handle Super Bowl security, noted Bobby McDonald, a lecturer in criminal justice at the University of New Haven and a former supervisory Secret Service agent.
“You couldn't have a better infrastructure already in place,” McDonald said.
NOT SO SWIFT:Could Taylor Swift make it to Super Bowl if she flew commercial?
Will Taylor Swift be at the Super Bowl?
It’s still not clear whether Swift will make an appearance at Sunday's game.
The artist kicks off the 2024 leg of her Eras Tour on Wednesday in Tokyo, but it's possible she lands in Las Vegas before kickoff. (One possible hiccup? Finding parking. Spots available for private aircraft at airports in and around Las Vegas are already spoken for, according to the Associated Press.)
veryGood! (592)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Archaeologists say single word inscribed on iron knife is oldest writing ever found in Denmark
- Montana man convicted of killing eagles is sentenced to 3 years in prison for related gun violations
- A list of mass killings in the United States this year
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Turkey formally ratifies Sweden’s NATO membership, leaving Hungary as only ally yet to endorse it
- 2 escaped Arkansas inmates, including murder suspect, still missing after 4 days
- US applications for jobless benefits rise, but layoffs remain at historically low levels
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Students in Greece protest plans to introduce private universities
Ranking
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Senator Tammy Duckworth calls on FAA to reject Boeing's request for safety waiver for the 737 Max 7
- Three soldiers among six sentenced to death for coup plot in Ghana
- Robitussin cough syrup recall issued nationwide due to microbial contamination
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Biden administration renews demand for Texas to allow Border Patrol to access a key park
- Cheap Fitness Products That Actually Work (and Reviewers Love Them)
- Experimental gene therapy allows kids with inherited deafness to hear
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
Biden to host Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida at a state visit in April
Seattle officer’s remarks about death of graduate student from India violated policy, watchdog says
Hong Kong’s top court restores activist’s conviction over banned vigil on Tiananmen crackdown
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
Mel B’s Major Update on Another Spice Girls Reunion Will Make You Stop Right Now
At least 50 villagers shot dead in latest violence in restive northern Nigerian state of Plateau
States can't figure out how to execute inmates. Alabama is trying something new.