SANTA CLARA, California, Feb 4, 2026, 11:09 PST
- The NFL and San Francisco 49ers set up an in-stadium cyber command center ahead of Super Bowl LX, stepping up monitoring for AI-driven threats.
- Cisco installed nearly 1,500 Wi‑Fi 7 routers as the stadium prepares for heavy fan uploads and livestreaming.
- The 49ers expect more than 35 terabytes of data uploads during the game, part of a broader tech upgrade that included a new data center.
The NFL has built a temporary cyber command center inside Levi’s Stadium ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LX, tightening defenses as it watches for attacks powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Reuters
The league and the San Francisco 49ers expect the roughly 65,000 fans in the building to push the network hard, with phones shooting video, posting to social media and sending clips in real time. The 49ers’ tech staff expect spectators will upload more than 35 terabytes of data during the game.
Costa Kladianos, the 49ers’ executive vice president and head of technology, said the security team is paying closer attention this year to AI-powered attacks. “Even up until last year, (AI) wasn’t as big of a threat as it is this year,” he said.
The work started more than a year ago and ran through the guts of the stadium: miles of fiber optic cable, hundreds of wireless access points, and new layers of cyber monitoring, the NFL and team said.
The NFL’s Senior Director of Cybersecurity George Griesler said attackers can blend into a high-traffic event. “So the threat actors will take an environment like this, just like a pickpocket,” he said.
A big chunk of the effort went into the Wi‑Fi network, built to handle uploads — the harder direction — not just fans scrolling on their phones. Upload bandwidth is the capacity to send data out, and at a packed stadium it can get choked quickly.
Cisco distinguished engineer Matt Swartz said the device count is part of the problem. “We’re in Silicon Valley, so everyone’s got one, two, maybe three devices,” he said. Channelnewsasia
Cisco installed nearly 1,500 wireless routers using the Wi‑Fi 7 standard, the newest generation of Wi‑Fi gear aimed at higher speeds and steadier connections. “It’s like adding a bunch of lanes to the highway during rush hour,” Swartz said.
Kladianos said the target is simple to state and hard to deliver: make the stadium’s wireless feel closer to what fans get at home.
Underneath the new screens and network sits new computing muscle. The 49ers said the latest stadium buildout included a new data center — a facility packed with servers and networking equipment — to support a $200 million upgrade package completed last year, including a 4K videoboard they said is the largest in the NFL. Straitstimes
The team operates three data centers, one at its practice facility and two at the stadium, the 49ers said. Santa Clara has become a popular place to put that kind of infrastructure because the city offers relatively cheap energy.
But more gear does not mean a quiet week. Stadium networks are messy, with thousands of devices connecting and dropping, and attackers can shift tactics quickly. The NFL’s cyber team will be monitoring through the event, looking for threats that try to hide inside the noise.
