INDIANAPOLIS — Natural disaster.

Biochemical hazard.

Terrorist attack.

No matter what calamity could have been during Super Bowl Week in downtown Indianapolis, Millersburg’s Rich Hackel was ready.

But forgive him for being tired and ready to go home to watch today’s game between the Giants and Patriots. He’s logged some long hours — five 12-hour shifts since in the last 10 days.

Hackel, 53, was one of more than 1,000 volunteers who have logged 12-hour shifts — 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. — who were on standby in an Indiana goverment building two blocks from Lucas Oil Stadium.

The task force encompasses a wide variety of govermental enforcement, emergency and tactical organizations.

It’s an impressive list.

There’s the FBI, federal and state Homeland Security, Department of Environmental Management, the EPA, the Department of Energy, Immigration and Customs Enforocement, the Army National Guard, Indiana State Police, Indianapolis city police, Marion County sheriffs plus volunteers from around the Midwest.

It’s big-time awareness for the nation’s biggest sporting event.

One of Hackel’s most important tasks is the multiple daily checks of the nine biohazard monitors positioned in and around Lucas Oil Stadium. The monitor continually check air quality for dangerous chemicals.

“People will walk right by them and not know they’re there,” said Hackel, who came to Elkhart in 1979 after graduating from Purdue University with a degree in Forestry. He served 24 years as chief ranger for the Elkhart County parks department and has been a volunteer firefighter with the Millersburg-Clinton Fire Territory for 27 years.

Hackel is an on-scene coordinator for the Indiana DEM.

“We just have to make sure the pumps are working, make sure they’re still plugged in and make sure know one’s using them as a coatrack,” Hackel said. “We have to check them two or three times a day. Really, we have to be ready for everything.”

The command post task force is poised for anything from a lost child to a toxic chemical spill to a blizzard.

A CSX railroad track within two blocks of Lucas Oil Stadium has re-routed all trains with toxic chemical cars away from downtown this week and no freight trains will pass near the Super Bowl crowd after 2 p.m. today until well after the game ends.

The city has invested millions of dollars and worked with local, state and federal agencies to try to keep all those people safe, according to Frank Straub, the city’s Public Safety director.

Up to 1,000 city police officers will be in the stadium and on the street, carrying smartphones and other electronic hand-held devices that will enable them to feed photos and video to a new state-of-the-art operations center on the city’s east side or to cruisers driven by officers providing backup, Straub said. Hundreds of officers from other agencies will be scanning the crowd for signs of pickpocketing, prostitution or other trouble.

Straub said he’s confident the city is prepared and notes that Indianapolis hosts major events “pretty regularly.”

Special teams from the Department of Energy will sweep Lucas Oil Stadium and the surrounding area for nuclear terror threats, and a new $18 million high-tech communications center that opened in time for the lead-up to the game will tie it all together.

“We’re using more technology, and state of the art technology, than has been used in any Super Bowl before this one,” Straub said.

Late Saturday, officials from cities hosting the next three Super Bowls were on hand for a information and training tour of the command post and its operation. Next year’s championship will be staged in New Orleans followed by New Jersey and Glendale, Ariz.

“It’s a lot of little things people might not even think about or see,” said Hackel, who’s spent his off days living at a Columbus hotel. “It been quite an experience working with so many different agencies.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Super Bowl travel

Transportation/Parking

More traffic congestion and delays expected due to arrival of Super Bowl ticketholders.

Please note: New visitors to Indianapolis who are not staying within walkable distance to Super Bowl venues need help navigating downtown.

Continue to avoid key traffic pinch points: Monument Circle, South Meridian and South. Illinois (north of South Street), Capitol between Maryland and Washington, Maryland between Capitol and Pennsylvania, and Ohio between Delaware and Capitol.

Missouri Street is closed between McCarty and South Street to allow for construction of the secure perimeter around Lucas Oil Stadium. Streets surrounding the stadium are inaccessible through Sunday.

With no new street closures tomorrow, lane restrictions and potential delays around key hotels may occur.

Downtown has more than 70 parking garages with more than 40,000 available spaces. To avoid delays, consider garages/lots in areas on the perimeter of downtown and plan to walk a few extra blocks.

Find cabs at West Washington Street and Virginia Avenue between Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Parking Reminders
Park and Ride garages at 327 North Illinois and 101 North New Jersey are available for $10 onsite on a first come basis. No shuttle space available, but they are within walking distance to Super Bowl activities.
IUPUI Park and Ride: On Saturday, 4,000 parking spaces are available on the east side of the campus to park and shuttle to Super Bowl activities for $25 per space, but no shuttle service is provided.

On the web:
www.IndianapolisSuperBowl.com

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