Traffic around Levi's Stadium was "heavy Sunday night" as the venue hosted nearly 70,000 fans for Super Bowl 50, and reports indicated that "surface streets around the stadium were backed up." North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's vehicle was rear-ended. Traffic "leaving the stadium was generally smooth because southbound lanes had been converted to northbound lanes" on the highway (SFGATE.com, 2/7).
S.F.'s Super Bowl City drew "days of crowds so thick" that police "had to turn people away." Fans "poured in Sunday" for "one last glimpse of the jumbo video screen." Those crowds "began thinning after lunchtime as the realization dawned that the Super Bowl itself wasn't going to be shown on Super Bowl City's big screen." The festivities concluded at 3:00pm PT (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/8).
Overall, the Super Bowl was "successful enough for the NFL to consider the 49ers for a future bid." But the new stadium in L.A. set to open in '19 "will create more Super Bowl competition within California." The Bay Area's "two-pronged approach to hosting the big event seems to have worked" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/8).
