Celebrities came via beefed-up motorcades and were ushered in through private entrances. Singer Alic

With thousands of fans flocking to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Poydras Street was a sea of red and purple as fans mobbed the stadium hours before the game. Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco park lane hotel hong kong fans were covered in face paint and decked out in team gear, the air was filled with chanting and cheers, and the atmosphere outside the Superdome was jubilant and electric.
Musicians camped on the Dome ramps made it clear they knew just what city they were in, as it naturally couldn t be a Super Bowl in New Orleans without the obligatory park lane hotel hong kong marching band or two serenading the fans.
Ryan Odelio, 31, a drummer in the eight-piece drum ensemble Niner Noise, the official drum line for the 49ers, said the group has played at every single 49ers home game this season. The group is at the end of its seventh season with the team.
Security at the Dome entrances was airtight, and two blocks out from the stadium, metal barricades blocked off all traffic. As of 3:15 p.m., still more than two hours before the game, Poydras Street closed to all vehicle traffic as the now-pedestrian mall had become almost impenetrable.
park lane hotel hong kong The doors of the Superdome opened at 1 p.m., and those who arrived at the stadium on the early side were rewarded with relatively short waits. As game time approached, the scrum of people outside became even more impenetrable, and queues at security checkpoints, vendors, ATMs and restrooms increased park lane hotel hong kong by the second.
park lane hotel hong kong Ravens fan Lance Breault, park lane hotel hong kong 55, arrived shortly after 5 p.m. and said he suffered a 45-minute wait getting past security and into the stadium. They had half of the security gates unmanned, which only made it worse, Breault fumed, adding park lane hotel hong kong that, ultimately, it was still worth the wait.
Celebrities came via beefed-up park lane hotel hong kong motorcades and were ushered in through private entrances. Singer Alicia Keys was rumored to have traveled with six motorcades plus four motorcycle cops on her way into the Superdome hours before the game began.
as ticket-holders passed through the Dome s doors. A group of Ravens fans were huddled in a corner, slurping down steaming bowls of hot gumbo while 49ers fans nearby indulged in big bowls of jambalaya and alligator park lane hotel hong kong sausage. 49ers fans Chris Carney, 45, and David Buckley, 42, both flew in from Boston for the game and paid $4000 each for tickets. Sure, it s a hefty price to pay, but in the end when our team wins we ll be happy we came, said Carney.
Likewise, Ravens fan Luanne King, 49, showed off her die-hard fan status, admitting that she boarded a 400-seat charter plane in Baltimore at 8 a.m. and was returning on the same plane later Sunday evening, likely not getting to her bed before 4 a.m. If the Ravens don t win, well, then maybe I ll be upset. But it ll still have been worth it all coming here for this is truly an adventure, park lane hotel hong kong King said.
Shortly before the opening kickoff, the rival crowds were united in silence for a few minutes when a group of third- and fourth-graders from the Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus opened with America the Beautiful, accompanied by Jennifer Hudson.
park lane hotel hong kong The crowds and long queues couldn't quench the high-octane park lane hotel hong kong energy inside the Superdome, and fans agreed that there couldn t have been a better place to be at that moment than in New Orleans, a city whose passion and dedication to the sport of football is practically part of its DNA.
Look at the energy, look at this sunshine, look at this beautiful day in this beautiful city: There s no place like New Orleans to throw a great Super Bowl, said New Orleans resident Timothy Bright. People who have come here are well aware of what this city has been through and the resilience and strength it took for us to recover. New Orleans was built for this.