LAW AND ORDER

The Public Safety Action Team makes sure that Super Bowl planning brings together police, fire and medical forces

By Hy Cotten

Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 11:11am

Because of the Super Bowl’s enormity, it’s easy to imagine just how much pressure there might be on police forces, firefighters, medical units, all the many people who devote their lives to protecting the masses on Super Sunday.

But in their eyes, every event matters. No matter how big or small.

“We go through painstaking efforts every single time there’s an event,” said Arlington Police Chief Theron Bowman. “We want to make sure public safety is held up as a highest priority so that fans are able to attend and enjoy the event in a way where they feel safe all the time.

“The Super Bowl is definitely a marquee event. But even for events that don’t have that same high profile, we are very diligently attending to public safety issues to make sure our fans are safe and that they can have a good time.”

Chief Bowman is Chair of the Super Bowl XLV Host Committee’s Regional Public Safety Action Team. The Public Safety team includes chiefs of police, fire departments and emergency management personnel from the cities of Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth and Irving. Also included are other agencies like the FBI, TSA, Homeland Security and more.

North Texas’ first-ever Super Bowl, and all the events surrounding it, will make for one huge special undertaking for the public safety forces. That’s why they are banding together like never before. They want to be prepared to do a job they do everyday.

“I think the term ‘heightened excitement’ is accurate when speaking of the Super Bowl,” Chief Bowman said, “because it’s an opportunity to host one of the premier sporting events in the world. From that perspective, we know the nation, if not the entire world, will be looking at the Super Bowl, and the events surrounding the game.

“That creates some anxiety. But the fact is we work hard every single day for every single event. Whether it’s a Dallas Cowboys football game or whether it’s a concert at the stadium, we’re working hard to make sure that facility and the patrons therein are maximally secured.”

They do not circle days on their calendars and say, “This is when we will begin our Super Bowl coverage.” Their Super Bowl watch does not start when the competing football teams arrive, or when NFL dignitaries fly in, or when the parties begin. Safety is an ongoing issue.

“We started preparing for Super Bowl XLV immediately after Super Bowl XLIII completed,” Chief Bowman said, referring to February’s game in Tampa. “And so, we’re already on Super Bowl XLV watch. We’re already heavily engaged in planning.

“It’s true that as the date approaches, we will become even more diligent. We will devote even more resources in the region to accommodate the fans that are coming in. But we are already very actively engaged in Super Bowl planning and preparation, making sure we properly deploy people into areas where the police and firefighters are needed.”

The Dallas Cowboys’ move from Irving to Arlington for this 2009 season changed the lives of those in the Arlington Police Department. This is its first taste at working football Sundays, college games and major concerts at the huge venue.

The 2010 NBA All-Star Game, coming to Cowboys Stadium next February, will require a similar team effort — just not on the massive scale of the 45th Super Bowl that will follow one year later.

“This is the largest joint effort we’ve ever undertaken for one event,” Chief Bowman said of the regional teamwork. “The NBA All-Star Game in many ways is similar, but it’s a little more localized between Dallas and Tarrant counties. Most of the NBA All-Star events will be in the city of Dallas and the city of Arlington. The planning and the execution for the Super Bowl are more extensive.”