Super Bowl LX Live Updates: No increased ICE presence, network says
Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, which is hosting the NFL’s title game for the first time since 2016. Our reporters and photographers are positioned throughout the stadium and surrounding areas, tracking developments as they happen — including security posture, crowd movement, transportation and any protest activity — along with the moments on the field that shape the game.
More Super Bowl coverage▸ Expect detours: Super Bowl prep reshapes traffic in Santa Clara▸ South Bay’s turn in the sun? What this moment could mean for San Jose▸ Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show
This live blog updates throughout the day, so check back regularly. The latest updates are on top.
1:40 p.m.: Outside Levi’s Stadium
The Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County — which operates a hotline for residents to report suspected sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — has yet to announce any confirmed instances of ICE agents conducting operations in the area. On late Sunday morning, the network posted on Instagram that the group “has not confirmed increased ICE presence in our area,” adding that “we remain vigilant and prepared.”
Concerns of heightened immigration enforcement have loomed over the event.
Less than two weeks ago, federal officials confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security would be involved in security for what stands to be the Bay Area’s biggest event in years, yet declined to detail what personnel or operations that presence would include. The agency is a mainstay presence at major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl. Yet this year, it garnered outsized attention for also overseeing agencies carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown campaign, including Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Monday, around 100 community members rallied in downtown San Jose to protest the possibility of ICE agents heightening their anti-immigration campaign during the big game.
Also this week, Santa Clara enacted a last-minute policy ahead of the game to prevent federal agents from using city-owned property for immigration enforcement activities. City leaders also approved “ICE-free zones” mirroring those adopted across the Bay Area, from San Jose to Alameda County.
1:27 p.m.
The Bay Area’s famously mild climate doesn’t appear likely to disappoint for the big game. Partly cloudy skies are expected at kickoff for Super Bowl LX, with forecasts calling for gametime temperature of 63 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. “The beginning of the game should be pretty nice,” said Sebastian Westerink, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Temperatures should drop throughout the game, settling in the mid to upper 50s by the time the confetti begins flying and the NFL crowns its next champion. The skies also are expected to get increasingly cloudy throughout the contest.
Though a “weak little system” will likely push through the Bay Area on Sunday evening, there’s little chance of rain falling at the game, Westerink said. “Most of the Bay Area is going to stay completely dry from the system,” Westerink said. “It’s possible there’s some very spotty drizzle, but no measurable precipitation is expected south of San Francisco.”
1:11 p.m.: Outside Levi’s Stadium
For some people, going to the Super Bowl is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Other people, such as Jason McCall, are steely veterans of the nation’s largest sporting event.
McCall, of North Attleboro, Mass., is celebrating his ninth trip to the Super Bowl. On Sunday, he was there with his son, 19-year-old son, Dylan McCall, who was attending the big game for the first time.
“(I’m on) cloud Nine,” Jason McCall said. “Can’t get much better than this.”
The duo wore Patriots jerseys and hats, one a fluffy American flag design, and the other a hybrid between a pirates hat and a football.
“I’ve gone to quite a few (Super Bowls), so I like to have a little something,” Jason McCall said. “It’s almost like a superstition thing — you want to show out. You know what I mean? Because there’s no hiding who we’re here for.”
1:10 p.m.
Last-minute revelers may find it increasingly difficult to get to Levi’s Stadium in time for kickoff. Ahead of the game, traffic experts and local officials warned of a slew of road closures in and around the stadium, prompting one AAA spokesman to recommend motorists “just stay out of the Santa Clara region” if they want to avoid traffic.
In general, closures in Santa Clara include Great America Parkway between Bunker Hill Lane and Patrick Henry Drive, and Old Ironside and Old Glory Lane.
Several street closures also are underway in San Jose, including eastbound San Carlos Street and southbound Market Street near the Convention Center.
12:24 p.m.: Outside Levi’s Stadium
Tasman Drive near the stadium is a sea of fans heading toward Levi’s three hours before kickoff. Meanwhile, buskers entertain people in line playing drums with buckets.
12:02 p.m.: Downtown San Jose
Valley Transportation Authority light rail trains headed to Levi’s Stadium from downtown San Jose are already packed, despite running three-car trains every 10 to 20 minutes. Fans of both teams appeared to be showing out in force, though Seattle Seahawks fans appeared to be slightly outnumbering New England Patriots supporters at the Bonaventura station in North San Jose.
11:59 a.m.: Outside Levi’s Stadium
Andrew Wergeland-Rammage, 35, traveled all the way from Seattle to watch the Seahawks play. Decked out in Seahawks gear, he even painted his foot-long beard half green and half blue in honor of his team. Even his drink was green.
“I’m feeling, fantastic, amazing, phenomenal,” he said. “I did my beard blue and green. … I do it every Seahawks game.”
11:45 a.m.: Outside Levi’s Stadium
Tal Winder, a 41-year-old resident of Lathrop but who lived in the Bay Area for 28 years and has been a Patriots fan for 30, is decked out in Patriots gear: a suit jacket with the Patriots logo repeating, a hat and face paint.
“I’m from the Bay Area, so having your team in your backyard, this is something I had to go. I bought my ticket a couple of days ago. So I feel amazing,” he said. “I’m feeling excited, feeling like we’re gonna come out and win, obviously.”
11:06 a.m.: Outside Levi’s Stadium
Gates to the stadium open, allowing in a flood of fans for the nation’s largest sporting event of the year. Just minutes earlier at a nearby pregame party, attractions include food, drinks and a bevy of merchandise stands. The attractions include a Captain Morgan stand styled like a boat, along with a botanical garden featuring women dressed in bedazzled floral dresses, along with a San Francisco cable car. Rival DJ booths repping the Seahawks and the Patriots are trying to drown each other out.
9:23 a.m.: West entrance, Levi’s Stadium
Fans decked out in Patriots and Seahawks gear began to mingle near the entrances to the Super Bowl LX, while a heavy security presence could be seen across the area, including local police officers and FBI agents.
A network of hundreds of law enforcement officers and security personnel – most visible, others harder to spot – are expected to fan out across the 1.85-million-square-foot venue and its surroundings Sunday to watch for potential threats. They’ll be supported by an untold number of surveillance cameras, drones and real-time technological hubs aimed at keeping attendees safe.
Ahead of the game, those preparations even included a low-flying Leonardo AW-139 helicopter equipped with radiation sensors.