NBC Sports set to host Super Bowl LX pregame coverage from Alcatraz Island

NBC Sports announced Monday that it would be using Alcatraz Island, the site of a former prison that is now a tourist attraction in the San Francisco Bay, for segments of its Super LX pregame show Sunday. It will be the first live broadcast to ever take place on Alcatraz.

Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Jac Collinsworth will broadcast live from multiple locations on the island during pregame coverage from Alcatraz beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET.

“Coverage will feature a look at the island’s historic significance as a military base, prison, and seabird conservation site, as well as the 19-month occupation by Native Americans in support of freedom and civil rights,” NBC Sports wrote in a press release.

The network is partnering with the National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which both manage the island.

As far back as the 1850s, Alcatraz served as a military base, including during the Civil War. The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, which operated from 1934 until its closure in 1963, was known for housing some of America’s most notorious criminals, including Al Capone. Escape was thought to be nearly impossible, requiring a swim of over a mile to San Francisco, while battling cold temperatures and dangerous currents.

In 1969 and 1970, Alcatraz became the site of a Native American occupation. A group known as the “United Indians of All Tribes” spent nearly two years occupying the island, protesting various federal policies that negatively impacted Native Americans.

Soon after the occupation concluded, the National Park Service took over administration of the land in 1972. The island was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1986, and the prison facility is now a popular museum. Alcatraz houses large seabird populations, including egrets, Western gulls and cormorants. It welcomes nearly 1.4 million people to its shores via ferry each year.