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Hudson River Patrols Set To Maintain Safety During Super Bowl

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- With the Super Bowl coming soon to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, teams are not the only ones with a game plan.

As CBS 2's Emily Smith reported, major security plans are under way. Smith took a tour of the Hudson River security zone with New Jersey State Police for an up-close look at the security game plan.

The security plan has been in the works for two years, with extra emphasis on the Hudson River. Under the plan, an unspecified stretch of the river will not only be heavily patrolled, but shut down to the few hearty boaters out there.

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There are two major reasons – the Denver Broncos are staying at the Jersey City Hyatt hotel on the water, while the Seattle Seahawks will be staying at the Jersey City Westin hotel, located just a block in.

"We established a security zone in between our two team hotels, and what that does is we're looking for anybody trying to cause any possible disruption on the Jersey City side of the water," said New Jersey State Police Lt. Edward Cetnar, the Super Bowl incident commander.

One of the major tools to help detect any suspicious activity is a 44-foot state-of-the-art boat, which goes 50 mph and turns on a dime. The vessel has infrared capability, underwater detection, and night vision.

It is one of several watercraft that will be on the Hudson, along with armed police officers.

"It will hopefully mitigate any type of threat that comes in here, whether it be waterborne, or just acting suspiciously, trying to come into a perimeter to prove a point, just basically wanting to make a name for himself – those are things that we're looking at," Cetnar said.

FBI Special Agent Aaron Ford earlier addressed the security plan, calling it a land, sea and air response from MetLife Stadium to Times Square.

"Our tactical teams have been training throughout the year for different scenarios to include active shooter, bomb threats, and hazards related to chemical biological radiological or nuclear threats," Ford said.

Heavy-duty measures have been put in place every Sunday for Jets and Giants games, but when more than 150 million people are watching an event worldwide, every resource gets used – and then some – to assure the Super Bowl lives up to its name.

Officials said MetLife Stadium is the only stadium in the country with football every week, since two teams play there.

Officials said it is yet another reason for people to feel confident in the Super Bowl security plan.

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