Super Bowl: Minneapolis requests National Guard security for big game

Minneapolis city leaders have asked Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton to mobilize the Minnesota National Guard to help with security during the Super Bowl.

The 52nd Super Bowl will be played at U.S. Bank Stadium on Feb. 4.

City police can’t meet all of Minneapolis’s safety and security needs during the 10 days of Super Bowl activities while still covering the rest of the city, Mayor Betsy Hodges and Mayor-elect Jacob Frey said in a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton.

Andrea Mokros, a spokeswoman for the Super Bowl Host Committee, said it would pick up the cost of the guard’s deployment, the Star Tribune reported.

“Our priority is creating a safe Super Bowl in which all Minnesotans can share in the excitement,” Mokros said.

The Guard would oversee “pedestrian safety, traffic control, security for key venues and infrastructure, and transport,” according to the letter. Minneapolis police and other agencies could then focus on other tasks. Several departments across the state have promised to send officers to Minneapolis to help with security.

The request is similar to other security requests made at almost every Super Bowl since 2002, officials said.

The governor is considering the request, said Bob Hume, Dayton’s senior adviser.