Major activities surrounding Super Bowl XLIX next February, "including the NFL Experience and other fan favorites, will be concentrated in Phoenix instead of multiple locations," according to a front-page piece by Eugene Scott of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee yesterday said that "most of the major Super Bowl XLIX events, except for the game itself, will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center, CityScape Phoenix and the Hyatt Regency Phoenix." The highlight will be Super Bowl Central, a free attraction that will be comprised of "12 city blocks of game-related festivities." The host committee plans to raise $30M to "fund activities." For Super Bowl XLII in '08, the NFL Experience "was held outside the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale." However, Glendale Assistant City Manager Julie Frisoni said that she "had expected the host committee to put the 2015 events in downtown Phoenix because NFL executives wanted a more centralized campus this time." She added that Glendale will "still have a lot of activities to offer" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/19). In Phoenix, Megan Finnerty in a front-page piece reports Super Bowl Central is "modeled after the Super Bowl Village in Indianapolis in 2012 and on Super Bowl Boulevard in Times Square in Manhattan in 2014." Organizers indicated that "local culture and food will be showcased," though specifics have not been finalized. Scottsdale will "remain a major destination for entertainment, as it was in 2008, although with perhaps less emphasis on north Scottsdale." ESPN again is basing its coverage there, and the host committee is "coordinating with the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau and Scottsdale-based party organizers to match the right events with the right venues in Scottsdale and Phoenix" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/19).
