Super Bowl traffic tied up around stadium

TAMPA -- It's more than an hour since the game ended, and traffic is thick.

Transportation officials are trying to move 72,000 people out of the area.

Martin Luther King Boulevard eastbound is at a complete standstill, officials say. Buses off MLK are lined up and stalled as they attempt to wade into the traffic.

511.tampabay.com reports jams on all streets around Raymond James Stadium as well as westbound on Hillsborough Avenue between N Dale Mabry Highway and Sawyer Road and eastbound on Hillsborough Avenue between the Veterans Expressway and Interstate-275.

Gameday Transportation Group VP Mike Witte is on and off his phone issuing orders to try to reroute buses into into less conjested areas. One area of concern is in Lot 11, where team family members waiting to depart on buses.

Also, Florida Highway Patrol is responding to a wreck on N Dale Mabry Hwy. at Ehrlich Road. There is also a crash at Hillsborough Avenue and Golden Dr., just west of Dale Mabry, involving a road block in the left turn lane.

Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

Word goes out: 'Final score: 27 to 23. Steelers.'

TAMPA -- Super Bowl transportation dispatcher John Gundersen flipped on the mic and called all 16 radio channels.

"Final score," he announced, "Twenty-seven to 23. Steelers."

Next channel.

"Final score," he said, "Twenty-seven to 23. Steelers."

Next channel...

Gundersen has done this for 15 Super Bowls now. He's as good at calling the game as he is communicating with lot managers, golf cart drivers and bus escorts to move masses of people at one time, his boss says.

Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

 

No fly zone violated four times during Super Bowl

TAMPA -- Four pilots entered the no-fly zone surrounding Raymond James Stadium during Super Bowl restrictions, federal officials report.

Two were rerouted and excused as innocent violators, said Tara Dunlop of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Two others were cited with violating a temporary flight restriction.

Shortly after 4 p.m., when the Federal Aviation Administration extended flight restrictions from a one-mile radius around the stadium to a 30-mile radius, the two small, private helicopters entered the restricted air space. Dunlop said both responded to radio transmission and moved out of the zone.

And you thought Super Bowl traffic control was boring...

TAMPA -- The people running Super Bowl transportation get excited by things that might not exactly make you jump up and down.

"Look at all those buses! I love it!" Martha McGowan-Crea exclaimed. "Love it!"

As of 4 p.m., the parking lots at Raymond James Stadium were packing in enough buses, limos and cars to evacuate a small city.

Mike Witte, VP of Gameday Management Group, read from the latest report:

At the Highwoods Office Park -- aka Green Lot OP -- there were 3,962 cars. At Lot 14, where the transportation command post is situated, 994 cars, 65 limos and 102 buses.  At Hillsborough Community College, there were 881 cars, 41 limos and 84 buses.

Asked what exactly it was about the buses that excite her, McGowan-Crea smiled and pointed out the window of the trailer command post: "When you go out there, check and see how cool a hundred buses are!"

Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer

The rumor's dead: Obama not coming for Bowl

TAMPA -- The rumor about President Barack Obama making an appearance at Sunday's Super Bowl in Tampa not true,police confirmed today.

Watch for fake Tampa Super Bowl tickets

Look closely at that pricey Super Bowl ticket. Authorities expect fakes to start turning up tonight or Friday.

But the NFL and law enforcement officials say real tickets -- they have a face value of $800 to $1,000 -- have myriad tell-tale features designed to thwart counterfeiters:

• The words "Super Bowl XLIII" are laser-cut into the ticket, allowing light to shine through.
• On the back, there's a hologram. Turn it one way, and you'll see the words "TAMPA BAY." Turn it the other, and there's the logo for Super Bowl XLIII. The colors should really pop in the light. If you see both images at the same time, it's probably a piece of silver foil and a fake.
• And at the bottom of the back of the ticket, look at the image of the stadium. The field and two curving stripes above it are printed in grass-green heat sensitive ink. Rub it with your thumb, and the field and stripes will disappear. Take your thumb away, and they return.

Fake Super Bowl merchandise under investigation

Tampa police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have detained a man suspected of selling more than $1 million worth of counterfeit Super Bowl and athletic merchandise from a stall at the International Flea Market.

Officials say Junior Raphael Prentice, 38, was selling conterfeit jerseys, hats and Nike shoes at the market, 11309 N. Nebraska Ave. S. NFL security is also helping investigate.

Craigslist, undercover busts lead police to 20 Bowl-week prostitution arrests

TAMPA -- Craigslist, CrimeStoppers and disguised policewomen have contributed to 20 prostitution-related arrests in Tampa two days into the week leading up to the Super Bowl, police said.

The Tampa Police Department and Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested 13 men and seven women on various charges of offering to commit, soliciting or procuring people for prostitution between Monday and this morning. Officers nabbed suspects on the street and at three adult businesses -- Thee Love Shack, Buddies Adult Video and the Yokohama Massage Spa.

Traffic tips for pedestrians, cyclists

In less than a week's time, thousands of out-of-towners will descend on Tampa Bay for the Super Bowl.

You know what that means, right? Thousands of people unfamiliar with local traffic laws. So, to ease some of the pain (and promote safety, of course), AAA offers tips for pedestrians and cyclists.

Yes, some of these are common sense and most should be reminders. But if nothing else, it could save you $49.50 (Tampa's fine for pedestrian and bicycle violations).
 
For the bicyclists

• Riding between sunset and sunrise? Make sure your bike has a front white light visible from 500 feet away, and both a red reflector and lamp visible from 600 feet away for the back.
• Under 16? Better have a helmet.
• Can't remember the last time you put down your iPod? Shelve it for your ride, because it's a violation to wear any sort of headphones - except hearing aides, of course.
• Avoid dark clothing if you must ride at night. 

For the pedestrian

• Stick to the sidewalk. And when there aren't any around, take a stroll along the left side of the street (so you're facing oncoming traffic)
• Hotels are our friends - and the staff inside can often offer the suggestions on the quickest and most safe route to wherever you're going
• Crossing intersections diagonally is a no-no.
• Watch out for intersections without clear right-of-way yield signs

--Kameel Stanley, Times staff writer

Super Bowl prep includes bomb training

Thirteen bomb-sniffing dogs from around Tampa Bay will prepare for the Super Bowl this week by attending training sessions organized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

ATF canine specialists will be at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg from Monday to Friday of this week instructing the dogs and their trainers on how to search crime scenes, sniff for shell casings, identify guns and locate explosives in case of an emergency, according to the bureau.

"It's all imprinting for the dogs," said ATF special agent Paul Canup. "They just keep giving the dog a certain smell that they want to alert to and its just repetition, over and over and over."

The dogs -- mainly Labradors and Shepherds, which are popular in law enforcement for their loyalty and skill in detection -- won't be confronted with any shootings or explosions at the Trop, Canup said. Still, they will be run through mock sweeps of luggage and the bleachers, have to sniff for spent ammunition rounds, and learn how to navigate an area recently blasted with explosions.

Super Bowl security is a huge concern, as some have projected about 100,000 out-of-town visitors will flock to Tampa for the big game. The ATF said these sessions mark the first time the training has taken place outside of their canine center in Front Royal, Va.

Teams that participate in this week's training will become nationally certified through the U.S. Department of Justice.

Drew Harwell, Times staff writer

Dogs getting trained for Big Day

Eight area police dogs will start their Super Bowl training tomorrow.

According to the Tampa police department, the dogs, mostly laborador retrievers, will check vehicles for explosives and do stadium sweeps for dangerous substances, making sure the tens of thousands of fans attending the games are safe.

The Super Bowl will be held Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium.

The laborador retrievers are specially trained to detect illegal and dangerous things. (German shepherd police dogs are traditionally trained to apprehend suspects).

The dogs and their human police partners are from the Tampa Police, the federal bureau of Alchohol, Tobbacco and Firearms, the federal Border Protection and the Hillsborough County Sheriff.

"A lot of things have changed since the last Super Bowl" in early 2001, said Tampa Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis. "We didn't have 9/11 back then. We are making sure the game is incredibly safe for the fans, and this is one of the ways."

-- Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer