Agencies Work to Increase Security for CFB Championship

Atlanta Police say they are working with the United States Secret Service to create a comprehensive security plan for Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship due to President Donald Trump’s expected attendance.

• By Jessica Davis
• Jan 05, 2018

Atlanta Police say they are working with the United States Secret Service to create a comprehensive security plan for Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship due to President Donald Trump’s expected attendance. More than 100,000 visitors are expected for the game, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta Police spokesman Carlos Campos said they are “aware of his visit.” Officials have not commented on any specifics of the security plans, and the White House has not yet officially confirmed that the President will be in attendance.

More than 30 local, federal and state agencies, including the GBI and FBI, began working on security plans for the event more than a year ago. Their preparations included hundreds of security planning meetings, a visit to Tampa to see how the city planned for the playoffs and a 500-page plan.

“Back in November we had a tabletop exercise. Our federal partners ran us through different scenarios for every event, for every possible situation we might see, just to test our reactions,” said Amy Patterson, the director of operations and logistics for the Atlanta Football Host Committee.

The GBI is already securing checkpoints around the stadium, and there is a clear bag policy in place for every event associated with the playoffs. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary restriction on flying Unmanned Aircraft Systems such as drones over the stadium from Saturday morning to Sunday evening.