The NFL had a “long and expensive list of confidential requests” before it awarded Super Bowl LII to Minneapolis, according to a front-page piece by Kaszuba & Olson of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The requests included “free police escorts for team owners, and 35,000 free parking spaces,” and Presidential suites “at no cost in high-end hotels.” The league also requested “free billboards” throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul, and “guarantees to receive all revenue from the game’s ticket sales -- even a requirement for NFL-preferred ATMs at the stadium.” Those requirements and “many others are detailed in 153 pages of NFL specifications for the game." The document “has not been released publicly but shows how the NFL will control the event and many of its public aspects.” The requests cover everything from "free access to three ‘top quality’ golf courses during the summer or fall before the Super Bowl, to free curbside parking at a yet-to-be designated NFL House -- defined as a ‘high-end, exclusive drop-in hospitality facility.’” Kaszuba & Olson reported cities bidding to host the games were “asked to pay all travel and expenses for an optional ‘familiarization trip’ for 180 people” to inspect the region. The NFL “asked that if cellphone signal strength at the team hotels is not strong enough, then the host committee -- at no cost to the league -- ‘will be responsible (for erecting) a sufficient number of portable cellular towers.’” The league asked potential host cities that inside the stadium, it “be able to install ATMs that accept NFL preferred credit and debit cards -- and for officials to cover or remove ATMs that ‘conflict with NFL preferred payment services.’” Minneapolis City Council President Barb Johnson said “incentives” were necessary to host the Super Bowl. However, Mayor Betsy Hodges’ office said that it “did not know what the city’s host committee ultimately agreed to” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/8).
BAY AREA BUDGET: In S.F., Matier & Ross wrote the “biggest slice” of $40M being privately raised for the local costs of Super Bowl 50 will go into making Levi’s Stadium “ready for the big game -- but none will go to cover San Francisco's expenses for playing host to the event.” Preparing the stadium will mean “adding seats and new turf, plus building a media center and hiring additional staffers, ticket takers and cleanup crews.” Part of the $40M also “will go into a weeklong NFL Experience mini-theme park” in S.F. and various events around the Bay Area. None of the private money will “help pay San Francisco's hosting expenses -- which will probably include hefty amounts of police, firefighter and Muni overtime” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/8).
