Super Bowl 50 will be one of the most highly guarded sporting events in US history as security services pile resources into preventing any repeat of the deadly attacks in Paris, although officials say there is no specific or credible threat to Sunday's game.
November's attacks in the French capital by gunmen linked to the Islamic State militant group included suicide bombings near entrances to the national stadium as a soccer game was underway, provoking fears of attacks targeting crowds attending big sporting events elsewhere.
Federal US security officials are tight-lipped as to how their plans differ for this year's NFL championship game from previous Super Bowls, where security is always tight.
But hundreds of US law enforcement agents are moving into the Bay Area in the week leading up to the game, to be held at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, some 80 km southeast of San Francisco.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be deploying commando-style SWAT (special weapons and tactics) teams, officials said, as well as bomb experts and evidence collection technicians so that specialists are in place should the worst happen.
"This is a high-profile target," said David Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Francisco field office.
"A terrorist group would receive a great deal of publicity (if they attacked it), which is what they are looking for."
The game is expected to attract more than 100 million viewers in the United States and millions more around the world.
The FBI will have helicopters and planes in the air over the stadium, Johnson said, and security will be tight at game-related venues such as an NFL exhibit in downtown San Francisco and practice fields used by the teams in the week leading up to the game.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security will set up a giant X-ray machine to screen all cargo going into the stadium, among other tasks, spokeswoman Marsha Catron said.
The Super Bowl is considered the second-highest threat environment under US federal guidelines, a notch below what is called a National Security Special Event, which includes summits of world leaders and presidential inaugurations.
Two federal officials said a no-fly zone will effectively be imposed over the stadium and its environs as a precaution, with traffic through it largely, if not exclusively, limited to official aircraft.
Because the game venue sits by a creek linked to the Bay, US Coast Guard boats will create a maritime exclusion zone around it too, the officials said.
Police are also bracing for possible street protests mentioned on social media by civil rights activists.
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