Law enforcement in New Orleans said they are hardening their security plans as the venue prepares to host two major football games, with the first coming on Thursday.
Wednesday's Sugar Bowl, which is part of the expanded College Football Playoff, was slated for a Wednesday evening kickoff, but officials postponed the game to Thursday afternoon. The delay came hours after a deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street killed 14 people.
Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of New Orleans Police, said additional resources will be used to secure the Superdome as an estimated 70,000 fans will enter the stadium Thursday afternoon. The Superdome will then host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
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"We have proven that we can provide safe passage to the Superdome and back," she said. "We've done that time and time again. We're going to just harden our plan. We're going to harden our targets is what we're going to do, but we believe we can absolutely provide a safe and wonderful environment today and for the Super Bowl and all of our activities."
This year's Super Bowl will be the 11th time the game will be held in New Orleans, and the eighth time the game has been at the Superdome. No other venue has hosted more Super Bowl games than the Superdome.
The Sugar Bowl has been held at the Superdome every year since 1975, with the exception of 2006 when Hurricane Katrina damaged the facility.
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