New York deploys snipers for ‘Super Bowl on steroids’ operation at sports event

NEW York is deploying police snipers at covert locations as part of a huge sporting security operation this week.

The pop-up $30 million Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island will host games in the T20 World Cup.

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And authorities have ramped up security to Super Bowl levels after a threat made by ISIS.

New York’s temporary stadium will host eight games in the tournament between June 3 and 12.

They include the showpiece fixture between rivals India and Pakistan on June 9.

Before the competition began, ISIS released a threatening poster with the date of that game on it.

It also had “Nassau Stadium” written and featured a man in a hood.

A message on the poster read, “You wait for the matches and we wait for you.”

There was also a warm-up game held between India and Bangladesh on June 1.

Law enforcement tackled a fan after they ran onto the field at that event.

Nassau County Police Department will oversee security measures at the facility, built in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, about 30 miles east of New York City.

“This is like the Super Bowl on steroids,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.

“There will be teams from all over the world coming in.

“There will be fans from all over the world coming to Nassau County.

“We have been meeting for well over six months on a regular basis to talk about security concerns and health care concerns, which could potentially arise at any kind of event of this magnitude.”

According to a report by BBC, they have been working with the New York Police Department, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security in the lead-up to the tournament.

Fans entering the 34,000-seat stadium are subject to airport-style security measures.

The park around where the temporary stands have been erected is also closed off to public.

A statement from the International Cricket Council read, “The safety and security of everyone at the event is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place.

“We work closely with authorities in our host countries and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event.”

The 2024 World T20 features 20 teams and kicked off in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night.

USA is hosting games at three venues – New York, Dallas, and Lauderhill, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.

West Indies is the main host for the competition and will take over exclusively from the latter stages.

USA defeated Canada in the opening game Saturday night and the final is set for June 29 in Bridgetown, Barbados.

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