After the deadly blasts in Boston, law enforcement in South Florida has increased security around the upcoming big events.
And just days away, the AmericanAirlines Arena will be the epicenter of sports in South Florida as the NBA champions The Miami Heat start to defend their title in the playoffs.
But the arena is just one of many places that will host large gatherings across the area, and local law enforcement have stepped up security after the Boston Marathon blasts, which killed three and injured more than 170 people.
Security was increased at the Miami Parking Authority, which cover 12 garages and 60 surface lots.
"We put our companies, our security companies on alert as well as our operations staff to be a little extra--a little extra attention to you know ---suspicious people or packages," said director Art Noriega.
The bombs in Boston were placed in trash cans on the street.
Click here for complete coverage of the Boston bombing.
"The playoffs are coming now with the Heat. Fortunately, there its a closed area and everybody's bags are searched and looked at and I'm sure we will look at that more thoroughly now," said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
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The Fort Lauderdale airshow is also coming and thousands are expected to gather on the beach to see the jets race by. So, police areupping their presence at any location where the public will gather.
"When it touches civilians--civilians are almost like the children of the government and they're the most vulnerable and so the impact of it, which is what what makes terrorism so terrible, the impact is that much greater," said University of Miami professor Neil Johnson.
Security experts say that in addition to the big events that make South Florida attractive, the two ports, airports, and being the crossroads from Latin American and the Carribean also make the area a potential target.
"We have no credible threats that we know of against Miami-Dade or the people of Miami-Dade county but we have taken enhanced security at our seaport, our airport, what you would consider our critical infrastructure, our schools we have also enhanced security measures there," Gimenez said.
The public should expect heightened security at Heat games, and both ports will also have extra measures in place now.
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