Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, which is hosting the NFL title game for the first time since 2016. Our reporters and photographers are stationed throughout the stadium and surrounding areas, tracking developments as they happen – including security posture, crowd movement, transport and any protest activity – and on-field moments that shape the game.
🏈 Lots of Super Bowl coverage
▸ 🏟️ Expect detours: Super Bowl prep reshapes traffic in Santa Clara
▸ 🌉 South Bay’s turn in the sun? What this moment could mean for San Jose
▸ 🎤 Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show
This live blog updates throughout the day, so check back often. Latest updates are up.
1:10 p.m
Last-minute revelers may find it increasingly difficult to get to Levi’s Stadium in time for kick-off. Before the game, traffic experts and local officials warned of a number of road closures in and around the stadium, prompting another AAA spokesperson to recommend motorists “just get out of Santa Clara County” if they want to avoid traffic.
In general, Santa Clara closures include Great America Parkway between Bunker Hill Lane and Patrick Henry Drive, as well as Old Ironside and Old Glory Lane.
Several road closures are also underway in San Jose, including eastbound San Carlos Street and southbound Market Street near the Convention Center.
12:24 pm: Outside Levi’s Square
Tasman Drive near the stadium is a sea of fans heading towards Levi’s three hours before kick-off. Meanwhile, the bus riders entertained the people in the queue by playing drums with buckets.
12:02 pm: Downtown San Jose
Valley Transportation Authority light rail trains headed to Levi’s Stadium from downtown San Jose are already packed, despite running three-car trains every 10 to 20 minutes. Fans of both teams were seen showing strong, although the Seattle Seahawks fans seemed to slightly outnumber the New England Patriots fans at the Bonaventura station in North San Jose.
11:59 am: Outside Levi’s Stadium
Andrew Wergeland-Rammage, 35, traveled all the way from Seattle to watch the Seahawks game. Decked out in Seahawks gear, he even painted his foot-long beard half green and half blue in honor of his team. Even his drink was green.
“I feel, it’s wonderful, it’s amazing, it’s amazing,” he said. “I make my beard blue and green. … I do every Seahawks game.”
11:45 am: Outside Levi’s Stadium
Tal Winder, a 41-year-old who lives in Lathrop but has lived in the Bay Area for 28 years and has been a Patriots fan for 30 years, is decked out in Patriots gear: a suit jacket with a repeating Patriots logo, a hat and face paint.
“I’m from the Bay Area, so to have your team in your backyard, this is something I had to go for. I bought my ticket a few days ago. So it feels amazing,” he said. “I feel good, I feel like we’re going to come out and win, obviously.”
11:06 am: Outside Levi’s stadium
The stadium gates are open, allowing more fans to fill the biggest sporting event of the year. A few minutes before the intimate pregame party, attractions include food, drinks and dozens of merchandise stands. Attractions include Captain Morgan’s stand modeled as a boat, as well as a botanical garden with women in dazzling floral dresses, and the San Francisco cable car. Rival DJ booths repeat the Seahawks and Patriots attempts to drown them out.
9:23 am: West entrance, Levi’s Stadium
Fans decked out in Patriots and Seahawks gear began to gather near the entrances to Super Bowl LX, while heavy security was seen throughout the area, including local police and FBI agents.
A network of hundreds of police and security forces – some highly visible, some hard to see – are expected to be out in force throughout the 1.85-million-square-foot facility and its surroundings on Sunday to watch for potential threats. They will be supported by a countless number of surveillance cameras, drones and real-time technology hubs aimed at keeping attendees safe.
Before the game, those preparations even included a Leonardo AW-139 helicopter equipped with radiation sensors.
