In 2013, Houston won in a vote over South Florida as the 2017 host city for the Super Bowl. “I can’t tell you how excited I am for Houston in being selected as the site for the 2017 Super Bowl,” Texans chairman and CEO Bob McNair had said in an interview with Nick Scurfield, sports writer for the Houston Texans. “This is a worldwide stage that will be constructed in Houston and the world will be watching. It’s an opportunity to showcase our wonderful city, the NFL and the Super Bowl all at the same time.”
Local News
Houston’s Super Bowl LI a Boon for City, State, and Fan Alike
By |
$500 Million Dollars of Revenue Anticipated for City Businesses.
Photo: Facebook/Houston Super Bowl
City of Houston Controller, Chris Brown, was quoted in a Houston Business Journal interview, saying, “It will be a nice economic impact at a time when we really need it. …To have an economic boost like that — it’s really important. Businesses can capitalize, energy companies can have events and bring clients, and we can support that.” Anticipated to bring in more than $500 million of revenue, all of which is planned for the downtown core, Super Bowl LI is anticipated to be a boon for the Galleria, Discovery Green Park, and NRG Stadium. In previous Super Bowl host city circumstances, this was not the case. Accommodations and special events for fans were held outside of their cities, bringing little game-based revenue to their urban centers.
An Incredible Fan Experience
Photo: Facebook/NRG Stadium Blue Lot Tailgating CHECK in
And what an incredible experience Houston has planned! Aside from the game itself, and the usual star-gazing that takes place (the new Marriott Marquis with the Texas-shaped lazy river will be open to the public for just such an activity) there will also be what’s known as “Super Bowl LIVE”: a series of free concerts featuring some of the largest acts in the music business accompanied by some of Houston’s famous food scene representatives, NFL fan games, and so much more.
Houston’s Super Bowl LIVE Will be Epic!
Photo: Flickr/E Photos
A sort of plaza-type sensation mixed with an amazing atmosphere, Houston’s festival is expected to be twice the size of San Francisco’s (2016) which drew more than 1 million people. In anticipation of this, the city has increased parking and other amenities and accommodations for a larger festival with a larger city population expected to participate. This is the third Super Bowl for the city, which previously hosted at Reliant Stadium in 2004 and Super Bowl VIII in 1974. Large headliners such as ZZ Top (confirmed by Click2 Houston) are expected to draw large crowds.
“They Deserve the Super Bowl, and We’re Thrilled to be a Part of That…”
Photo: Pixabay
“It’s a great city,” stated NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a 2013 interview after Houston was selected. “They have a terrific stadium. They obviously put together a proposal that got a great deal of support from our membership. They deserve the Super Bowl, and we’re thrilled to be part of that and I think it’s going to be great for the game.”
Game Day Tickets Released at Varying Price Points
Photo: Facebook/The Traveller Inc.
Tickets for the game became available in June 2016. League owners voted to modify the allocation of Super Bowl tickets and give On Location Experiences (official hospitality provider for the NFL) 6,000 additional tickets to release together with travel and hospitality packages. In effect, this gave the NFL the opportunity to provide more tickets directly to the public as opposed to season ticket holders for the teams that would be playing. It opened the opportunity for more diverse fan participation and enjoyment, at varying price points. Longtime ticket broker, Jack Stopnicki, noted in an ABC13 interview, however, that the lowest face value of a Super Bowl ticket he had seen of late was still $1,000. Tickets are still being touted online, at present, and fans are being asked to research and review the accuracy of such sales at legitimate websites prior to purchasing.
Discovery Green Park will be Packed!
Photo: Flickr/Guzman Lozano
More than 1 million football fans are anticipated to flood Houston’s Discovery Green Park for the upcoming 10-day Super Bowl LIVE fan festival. The event will run from January 27 to February 5, 2017, and lead up to Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium on February 5th. The host committee launched a 15 foot football-shaped Countdown Clock at the site of the festival, featuring the Houston Super Bowl logo and the current number of days before game time. Three additional clocks are situated across the city at NRG Stadium, Hobby Airport, and Bush Intercontinental Airport. To say that Houston is excited to be hosting Super Bowl LI in 2017 is an understatement indeed!
Sources:
