The Super Bowl, the most-watched single-day sporting event in the world, is just four and a half months from landing in Houston.
With NRG Stadium in line for the international spotlight, KHOU 11 News checked in with a global security expert to see if the Bayou City is up to the task.
“It’s tough,” said Jim Conway, who worked as an FBI agent for 26 years. “We’ll be as ready as possible. We’ll be as ready as possible.”
Conway said city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies were all working together to collect intelligence and conduct surveillances.
He said they were also trying to identify potential threats.
“Are there radical groups?” he asked. “Are there anarchist groups? Are there terrorist groups?”
According to authorities, the FBI and HPD have created a Super Bowl security task force that has been strategizing for months and holding meetings to try and anticipate where an attack might take place in the two weeks leading up to the main event.
“They may look at those windows of opportunity in terms of soft targets, soft events that they might be able to penetrate and have an impact on,” Conway said. “They’re looking to get a name for themselves. They know that Houston is in the spotlight. They know the whole world is watching.”
Members of law enforcement will be watching as well.
“I think Houston will be one of the safest places in the United States that day,” Conway said.
Last year, Houston sent a security team to the Super Bowl in San Francisco to find out how they were preparing for the major event.
San Francisco police actually posted snipers on the rooftops over the fan fest where members of the media did live shots.
Officials in Houston refused to comment on specific security measures anticipated for Super Bowl 51.
