Flyover video of the new 49ers stadium in Santa Clara, CA (Video courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers).
The City by the Bay has its eyes on the prize: to be the host city for Super Bowl 2016. It may be a hail mary pass, but officials in San Francisco are going for it, believing this will be a winning touchdown not only for the local economy, but for the entire region as past host cities have proven.
The National Football League officially invited San Francisco and Miami, FL to submit a bid to be the host for the 50th Super Bowl. San Francisco mayor Ed Lee said the city has partnered with the 49ers organization and a Bay Area regional bid committee to compete for the title.
“There’s no better place to play host to the Super Bowl and celebrate one of our greatest sports than San Francisco and the Bay Area,” said Mayor Lee. “San Francisco has proven time and again that we know how to host the world for major events and shine on the international stage. A Super Bowl in the Bay Area will bring an enormous economic boost to our entire region.”
What made the Bay Area so attractive to the NFL? The 49ers are getting a brand-new, state-of-the-art, $1.4 billion stadium in Santa Clara, where the teams would play. Yes, Santa Clara is about an hour away, but San Francisco, as the mayor pointed out, will be the center of all pre-game activities leading up to the big game.
“It’s not just the game. There’s all types of events that happen Super Bowl week” said the mayor. “San Francisco will be the epicenter as we have a strong tourism infrastructure.”
“As a lifelong San Franciscan, I am honored that Mayor Lee has asked me to lead this effort,” said Daniel Lurie, Founder and CEO of the Tipping Point Community and leader of the bid committee. “We are committed to making this Super Bowl the most philanthropic game ever.”
“This is a regional effort, hence, our theme of bringing the bowl to the bay,” said Lurie. “We can’t do this alone. We are excited to work with Santa Clara and San Jose.”
If selected, the Bay Area’s economy will be the big winner off the field. Chief economist of the Bay Area Council, Jon Haveman, said “I estimate in the range between $100 to $200 million. The benefits for San Francisco are likely to be higher than Indianapolis or any other area. More people will likely come to the Bay Area and stay beyond the Super Bowl. We are a stone’s throw away from Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Carmel. There’s so much to do. It’s inevitable tourists will stick around and spend more money.”
As for the amount of jobs the Super Bowl can create, it’s “about 1,000 to 1,500,” said Haveman. “The visibility for the Super Bowl is significant. People watching on their TV’s will say, ‘That looks beautiful. Let’s go visit.’ It will have a lingering economic impact.”
The 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee released a report stating Indianapolis’ economy gained an estimated $152 million from local spending from tourists over a 10-day period.
Next year’s Super Bowl is in New Orleans and the host committee there estimates the Big Game will have a $434 million economic impact, creating about 6,000 jobs.
Nothing is official yet—San Francisco was just offered an invitation. However the Bay Area hopes to show the NFL the region is the place to be.
“We’re going to show them that the invitation allows us to create the most collaborative effort with all the different segments—business, education, of the Bay Area of all the different mayors coming together, bringing us all together on this incredible opportunity,” said Mayor Lee. “I look forward to working with Daniel Lurie, the 49ers, Santa Clara Mayor Matthews and San Jose Mayor Reed to host the best Super Bowl ever.”
The Super Bowl Bid Committee will deliver its bid package to the NFL owners in May 2013.
If San Francisco is not chosen, the city will have the opportunity to compete against Houston as host for Super Bowl 51 in 2017.
The committee is making a social media push on their #SFsuperbowl site to get locals in on the action to “Bring the Bowl to the Bay.” And, based on the impact of past Bowls, a win for San Francisco is a win for the entire Golden State.
