A large contingent from the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and the 49ers, as well as public officials and fire and police personnel from S.F. and Santa Clara, were in Arizona this weekend "to take notes" for next year's game, which will be held at Levi's Stadium, according to a front-page piece by Mark Purdy of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. It is a "rough parallel to the Super Bowl 50 blueprint that calls for most of the major hospitality events to occur" in S.F. before the game takes place 48 miles away in the South Bay. But game organizers "stress that their mission is to involve the entire Bay Area as much as possible." One idea is to have the 49ers' five Super Bowl trophies and the Raiders' three Super Bowl trophies "united in an unprecedented kumbaya spirit, then take them on some sort of grand tour of the region." The committee's promise to be as "regionally inclusive as possible is being honored." Most of the sites for next year "are set." The media center and interactive NFL Experience "will be at Moscone Convention Center," while the Fan Village "will be nearby, most likely along the waterfront." The Friday Night Party "is scheduled" for S.F. City Hall. But other locations "remain up in the air." In the original Super Bowl bid, Media Day was "penciled in for Levi's Stadium and the participating teams were scheduled to practice every day" at Stanford and San Jose State Univ. But those choices are "being reconsidered for logistical reasons, namely the prospect of busing teams and media" from potential S.F. hotel HQ. The problem is, there "aren't any suitable practice facilities" in S.F. (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/1). Meanwhile, USA TODAY's Gary Mihoces reported NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "was greeted with cheers -- and boos -- by fans Saturday night when he took the stage for a ceremonial 'handoff' of the Super Bowl" from Phoenix to S.F. Boos were "distinctly heard amid the cheers and applause," and that continued "early in his remarks as he thanked the Bidwill family" (USATODAY.com, 1/31).
EVENT PLANNING: In St. Paul, Chris Tomasson noted members of Minnesota's Super Bowl LII Host Committee arrived in the Phoenix area Monday in preparation for hosting the '18 game in Minneapolis, "checking out Super Bowl venues and looking at logistics, including transportation issues, square-footage requirements and how many volunteers will be needed." Vikings Exec VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley said, "The similarities are the addition of temporary seating, the tailgate events that are required to host 10,000 fans before the game and the security perimeters (that) requires a 300-foot perimeter." Tomasson noted some Super Bowl events "will be held outside," but as to what will be in St. Paul "remains to be seen." Super Bowl LII Host Committee CEO Maureen Bausch said that it is "possible Super Bowl media day could be at the Xcel Energy Center, although it could be at the new stadium." Bausch said that most of the events "will be in Minneapolis, St. Paul or Bloomington." She added that the central Super Bowl area "might be in downtown Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall." Tomasson noted NFL officials "will be in the Twin Cities in March to continue to look at venues and to make recommendations" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/1).
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE: In Seattle, Geoff Baker noted the NFL has Super Bowls booked through '18 but is "expected to soon start taking new bids." Visit Seattle President & CEO Tom Norwalk said that bidding on the '20 Super Bowl or later to be hosted at CenturyLink Field "likely makes the most sense because construction on the waterfront tunnel project should be complete." Norwalk added that Seattle is "closer than ever to meeting the NFL’s numbers requirements for the big game." Baker noted the Seahawks "plan to boost seating capacity to about 69,500 next season, right around the 70,000-seat minimum a Super Bowl typically requires." Norwalk said that the 3,000-4,000 hotel rooms being added the next five years in Seattle will "take the total to the 25,000 the NFL would want." A convention center expansion -- planned for nearly a decade -- should also "be finalized this year and add 300,000 to 400,000 square feet of space about a block north of the current venue" (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/31). Meanwhile, Steelers Chair Dan Rooney said he thinks a future Super Bowl at Heinz Field "should happen." Rooney: "You'll have a lot of teams in the Northeast that will want one, but I think Pittsburgh would be a good place for the next one in the North.” Rooney added that he "has not broached the subject" with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 1/31).
RAISING ARIZONA: In Phoenix, Bill Goodykoontz wrote of festivities leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, "It's been a fun week. ... It was just nice to feel such excitement pulsing through the Valley. A stroll through downtown Phoenix any time during the past week was jaw-dropping, with so many events and parties and craziness going on." Goodykoontz: "We've put on a pretty good show" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/1).
CORPORATE PERKS: In N.Y., John Branch wrote, "In person, Super Bowl week is a bit like a football-centric county fair." Organizers can "put a zip line in Indianapolis, a sledding hill in New York or a rock wall in Phoenix, but even those attractions feel a bit like throw pillows on a worn couch." More and more, fans "wonder why it matters where these games are played, because everything else during Super Bowl week is virtually unchanged by time or altered by place." Super Bowl week "merely follows the trend of uniformity in the NFL, where players and teams and stadiums have been slowly dulled of personality." It can be seen from the "corporately branded street carnival that passes as festivity to the news conferences with coaches and players that are sold as whimsy." Even the Super Bowl logo, once a "colorful piece of art made fresh each season, has been turned to a steely corporate badge in recent years." In the end, of course, the Super Bowl "is a television event, and everything preceding it is merely meant to fill the void before the game;" the people "milling around downtown are not the primary audience" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/1).
