Milton Ahlerich and NFL Security: Goal-Line Stand

Anything can happen at a football game. But Milton Ahlerich, the NFL's VP of security, has sworn to make it safe for players and fans alike.

By Daintry Duffy

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Rules pertaining to deliveries at the stadiums have also been changed. The best practices forbid deliveries on game day and state that all deliveries should be by appointment only.

The league strongly encourages that stadiums have digitally based surveillance. For an older stadium, that can be a tremendous expense, costing up to a half-million dollars without producing any revenue. But the effectiveness of digital surveillance on security is hard to dismiss. At the New England Patriots' stadium in Foxborough, Mass., the security personnel can pan the entire Gillette Stadium with their digital camera system and zero in on a single seat if necessary. Now, if someone throws a snowball at a game official, the security team can quickly retrieve a digital image of the incident, print out an instant photo of the fan with his arm cocked back, ready to throw. And when security approaches him to escort him out of the stadium, there is no argument. They simply show him the photo and walk him out to the gate.

Fan misconduct is much further down the list of potential threats, but the best practices outline techniques for handling disruptive behavior and preventing small problems from escalating into larger security situations. The guidelines state that alcohol sales should be closed at the end of the third quarter and suggest banning bottled beer to avoid problems with projectiles. They detail ejection procedures and suggest the presence of police officers on site so that unruly patrons can be arrested if their behavior warrants it. Super Security Only once a year does the intense spotlight of public scrutiny really shine on the security practices of the NFL. The Super Bowl is a uniquely American experience, combining the country's near-obsession with entertainment, sports, food and consumerism (particularly for those at home who catch the million-dollar commercials) into a single gluttonous event.

For the postseason events, which include overseeing the wild-card games, playoffs, championship games, the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl, responsibility for security shifts from the hosting stadium to the NFL security department. Those events require Ahlerich's team to work very closely with the hosting team's security group to plumb its knowledge of the facility and vulnerabilities, and with federal agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, FBI and Secret Service.

In 2002, the governor of Louisiana requested that President Bush designate the Super Bowl (played at the New Orleans Superdome) a national security special event. This directive, which was granted, gave the Secret Service command and control over the event and made federal resourcesincluding assistance from the military, the National Guard, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Serviceavailable.