S.F. Remains Hub Of Super Bowl Activity, While Santa Clara Is Quietly Going About Things

Though Super Bowl 50 will be played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, 40 miles south of S.F., "most of the festivities, fans and tech bigwigs are centered" in S.F. until game time, according to Jon Swartz of USA TODAY. Super Bowl City and the NFL Experience are "drawing thousands of fans to festival-like settings that lean heavily on tech exhibits for virtual reality, drones and video games." A fireworks show and lighting of the Bay Bridge on Saturday "illuminated the Bay." Meanwhile, Super Bowl parties "hosted by ESPN, Playboy, Vanity Fair, Maxim and other high-end brands are scattered across S.F." (USA TODAY, 2/3). In S.F., John King noted Super Bowl City "has activity nodes and visual landmarks." The Fan Energy Zone with interactive attractions "is contained within a wide curve of scaffolding clad in vinyl, a crowd-friendly version of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch." It also "has a ready-made icon: the 14-foot-high golden block numeral 50, carefully placed at an elevated edge of Justin Herman Plaza so that vertical selfies can include the Ferry Building in the background if desired." Most of Super Bowl City "is laid out spaciously enough that the throngs can get from one attraction to the next." King: "The gridlock that clots so many regional agencies didn’t make it through the four security checkpoints" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/1).

SOAK IT ALL IN: In Las Vegas, Ed Graney writes temperatures in S.F. yesterday "ranged from 48 to 50 degrees," though nothing "stopped thousands from lining up to attend the NFL Experience and its interactive exhibits" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2/3). In Sacramento, Joe Davidson noted for the NFL Experience, thousands of fans over the weekend descended into S.F., "braving all manner of traffic, to soak in the festivities." There was "a lot of security on hand -- law enforcement on every corner, heavy security to get into any NFL-backed building -- with a sense that nothing or no one was going to sully the NFL’s grand stage" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/1).

PUTTING ANY FEARS AT BAY: The MMQB's Peter King discussed the ways in which the Bay Area must succeed to host another Super Bowl, and he said, "The league will be looking closely how smoothly people can negotiate this oft-times traffic-snarled region. It is 51 miles from San Francisco to the media night festivities and 40 or so miles each day to each team hotel. The league will look closely at the venue, and security, and getting people in and out of it on game day. I anticipate things will run smoothly, mostly, and people will love a Bay Area Super Bowl. Really, how can you not?" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 2/1).

SMALL TOWN AMERICA: In Charlotte, Theoden Janes writes as Levi's Stadium is "getting ready to host the largest and most popular sporting event" in the U.S. on Sunday, fans "won’t see" any signs in Santa Clara. Unlike in S.F., where there "are roughly a bazillion signs featuring the words 'Super Bowl 50,' the city of 120,000 that is actually hosting The Big Game seems to be carrying on like nothing is happening" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/3). However, in San Jose, Robert Salonga notes the small-town vibe Santa Clara "has been able to maintain amid the fast-running Silicon Valley was hard to feel around Levi's Stadium" yesterday as preparations continue for the game (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/3).

HELPING PAY THE BILL: The Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, which has worked with the NFL to put on both Super Bowl City and the NFL Experience, has compiled a wide variety of corporate partners for the event. Among those are 17 Founding Legacy sponsors (THE DAILY).