Football fans get a village for 8 days
Super Bowl City set for plaza in S. F.
Hundreds of thousands of football aficionados are expected to converge on San Francisco’s Super Bowl City, a free “fan village” that will close down the easternmost stretch of Market Street and fill Justin Herman Plaza in the eight days leading up to Super Bowl 50.
The game itself will be played in Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 7. But the pre- party in San Francisco will kick off Jan. 30 with the opening of Super Bowl City and the relighting of Bay Lights, the display of 25,000 LED lights on the western span of the Bay Bridge.
The city is expected to add more public transportation to the area and reroute the historic F- line streetcars, as well as provide additional police protection. There are no estimates yet for how much money taxpayers could be on the hook for — and also no estimates yet for the economic boon the Super Bowl is likely to bring to San Francisco. Despite losing the 49ers to
Santa Clara, the city is also hosting Super Bowl events at Moscone Center and serving as the nighttime base for many fans.
Unlike America’s Cup
The lack of economic projections is different from the last time the city hosted a sports- related waterfront party. Before the America’s Cup came to the bay in 2013, city officials said it would bring more than $ 1.4 billion to the city — a figure that turned out to be wildly exaggerated. It actually brought $ 364 million to the city and cost taxpayers $ 5.5 million in city services.
Keith Bruce, CEO of the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl Host Committee, said the America’s Cup didn’t draw the crowds city officials expected because sailing is neither a popular nor well- known event here. That’s not the case with football.
“There’s not an educational component to this,” he said.
So far, the football festivities aren’t causing consternation among critics of waterfront development because the proposed village is temporary and free.
Jon Golinger, who ran recent successful political campaigns against waterfront development, said he’s heard no complaints about the Super Bowl.
“The truth is Justin Herman Plaza has always been underutilized as a civic gathering place, so I don’t have any concerns with that,” he said. “I think this is nothing like the fiasco that the America’s Cup ended up being.”
TV staging ground
The details of the fan village are still being worked out, but it is expected to include food and drink vendors, corporate sponsors’ exhibits and family- friendly events.
It will also be the staging ground for the CBS television network, which will broadcast live from Justin Herman Plaza throughout the week. The bocce ball courts there will be temporarily covered to create a football field that will serve as a backdrop for the CBS shows.
Notable buildings in the area, including the Embarcadero Center and the Ferry Building, will either be wrapped with Super Bowl logos or have logos projected onto them.
Bruce said the eight- day stretch is longer than previous Super Bowl fan villages, giving locals a few days to enjoy it before the hordes converge from around the country midweek.
Street closing
“We want to make sure whether you’re 8 or 80, there’s something fun for you to do,” he said.
Super Bowl City will shut down Market Street east of Beale Street for the eight- day duration.
The previously announced NFL Experience will be housed at Moscone Center. It is billed as an “interactive theme park” with games, entertainment, youth football clinics and free autograph sessions with NFL players. Fans will have to buy a ticket to NFL Experience, but Super Bowl City is free.