Bay Area Super Bowl bid organizers said that companies including Apple and Gap have "pledged to pitch in a combined $30 million if the Bay Area lands the Super Bowl in either 2016 or 2017, money that would go to cover hosting costs and affiliated charity efforts, including programs for needy young people,” according to John Cote of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The fundraising is notable for an “unprecedented commitment to use 25 percent of the total on local youth poverty reduction and environmental efforts.” The $30M currently is “in the form of written pledges for cash and in-kind contributions that will become binding” if NFL owners select the Bay Area to host either Super Bowl L or LI. Bid organizers estimate that they will need somewhere between $30-40M to "cover the cost of hosting the game, including running the NFL Experience" at S.F.'s Moscone Convention Center. Bay Area Super Bowl Bid Committee Chair Daniel Lurie said, "We were hoping to have half of that at this point. And we're not done fundraising yet." The Bay Area committee “hopes the strong corporate interest will further boost a bid that also got inadvertent help from the Florida Legislature earlier this month when lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have allowed tax revenue" to pay for more than $350M in upgrades to Sun Life Stadium. Bid organizers said that “more than nine companies, including Google, Yahoo, Intel, HP and the 49ers themselves, have committed to donating" $2M each, payable over four years, to the Bay Area's Super Bowl host effort (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/13).
