Clearing Roadways and Stadium Site to Ensure Safe Conditions Will Be Top Priority
East Rutherford, NJ and New York – December 18, 2013 – The NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee today unveiled a comprehensive weather preparedness plan for Super Bowl XLVIII. With approximately 400,000 visitors expected to come to the region for game-related events, and about 80,000 attending the game on Sunday, February 2, removing potential snow from all designated travel routes will be critical to safely moving visitors throughout the region.
Details of the weather preparedness plan were presented this morning at a press conference at MetLife Stadium. Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. President and CEO of the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, was joined by Senior Vice President of Events for the National Football League Frank Supovitz, NJ Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Joseph Mrozek, and President and CEO of MetLife Stadium Brad Mayne. The presentation included a demonstration of snow melting machinery utilized at the Stadium, and a vehicle representation of plows and trucks from the Department of Transportation.
“There may be no way to predict the weather – which could range from sunshine and mild temperatures to blizzard-like conditions – but we can be prepared for any and everything,” said Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee. “The expertise of our stadium and street snow removal crews will ensure that all visitors can travel safely to events throughout the week and enjoy the game on February 2.”
New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA)
- In the event of snow, NJDOT will be prepared to clear all roadways of snow, ice, and disabled vehicles.
- Within a 30-mile radius of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, NJDOT and NJTA have 821 agency-owned or contractor trucks ready to spread salt or plow snow.
- In addition to the 821 trucks in the region surrounding the stadium, the agencies have another 2,400 trucks available – for a statewide inventory of more than 3,200 trucks.
- NJTA and NJDOT have the capacity to stockpile nearly 60,000 tons of salt within 30 miles of the stadium. Statewide, the storage capacity for both agencies jumps to 222,000 tons.
- Both agencies use brine to pre-treat roads before a storm arrives and have a statewide total of 255,000 gallons of storage capacity.
- NJDOT and NJTA adds liquid calcium chloride to the rock salt when temperatures fall well below the freezing mark, and have a statewide capacity of about 840,000 gallons of liquid calcium chloride.
- A Command and Control structure, including GPS tracking capability in NJDOT and contractor trucks, allows deployment of resources where they are needed most – be it salt spreaders, plows, or front-end loaders.
New York City Department of Sanitation
- The Department of Sanitation will be prepared to clear roadways across the City.
- More than 6,000 Sanitation workers are expected to work.
- Sanitation assets that will be available to clear snow include:
- 440 salt spreaders
- More than 2,000 plowable garbage trucks
- 36 snow melters
- More than 230 front end loaders
- Department of Sanitation also has a citywide stockpile of 263,500 tons of rock salt, and 295,500 Gallons of Liquid Calcium Chloride at various locations throughout the boroughs for their snow response to Super Bowl Events.
MetLife Stadium
- Having already handled multiple snow storms since MetLife stadium opened in 2010, the stadium’s crew is well prepared and trained for all weather scenarios.
- The snow removal plan will include all areas on-site.
- In the seating areas, a fine-tuned system of snow chutes can direct snow to designated areas where it will then be loaded into Aero snow melters that can melt up to 150 tons of snow per hour.
- In the parking lot, 30 front-end loaders, 12 haul trucks, and six plows with salters can be used to clear snow, which can then be melted by a large Aero snow melter that can melt up to 600 tons of snow per hour.
- For the Super Bowl, a crew of 1600 workers – double the typical 800 for Giants and Jets games – will be ready for deployment.
“MetLife Stadium, the city, and both states have a strong track record of preparing for and handling adverse weather conditions,” said NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee Co-Chairman Jonathan Tisch. “When game time comes, we will be ready to handle whatever Mother Nature throws at us.”
“In the Northeast we have always embraced the weather as a unique and iconic part of the game,” said NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee Co-Chairman Woody Johnson. “While we are not hoping for snow, I have every confidence that our outstanding crews at both the stadium and government agencies will be able to rapidly respond in the event of inclement weather.”
“Planning for all weather conditions is something we do for every Super Bowl – snow, rain or shine,” said Frank Supovitz, Senior Vice President of Events for the National Football League. “We’ve hosted successful Super Bowls in cities like Detroit and Minneapolis, and we are now looking forward to putting on this historic cold-weather outdoor game. The experienced crews at MetLife Stadium continue to demonstrate they are well prepared to clear the lots, the field and seating areas. We also are thankful for the assistance from the state agencies in both New Jersey and New York.”
“All of us are probably hoping for a week of mild weather, right through Game Day, but our job is to plan for the worst, and to help ensure that this cold weather, outdoor stadium Super Bowl week comes off without a hitch,” NJDOT Deputy Commissioner Joseph Mrozek. “A primary focus of NJDOT will be to keep vehicles on the move, and that means making sure that the roads and bridges leading to event locations are free of snow, ice, and disabled vehicles.”
“MetLife Stadium has handled multiple snow storms since opening in 2010, and just last week, seamlessly handled a storm prior to the Giants Seahawks game,” said Brad Mayne, President and CEO of MetLife Stadium. “Come time of Super Bowl XLVIII, our experienced crews will be prepared to clear snow and get the field ready to play as they always do.”