‘Herculean’ volunteer force prepares to guide visitors for Super Bowl

As a former concierge in Las Vegas, Carmen Mesa’s motto was, “There’s no way you can come to my town and not have a good time.”

In February, she’ll take that same mentality to a new role: a lead volunteer with “Team LV,” the 7,000-strong volunteer corps with the Las Vegas Super Bowl LVIII Host Committee.

“There’s always two things,” Mesa said. “There’s F1, then F1 in Las Vegas. There’s the Super Bowl, then the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. You can go to a Super Bowl in Miami and New Orleans, and that’s cool. But this will be epic.”

Volunteers had their last orientation at the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday, gathering for a pep-rally-like atmosphere before they spread out across the county to greet tourists at the Strip, outside Allegiant Stadium, at airports and more in just over three weeks.

Trevor Bobb, senior vice president of volunteer operations for the host committee, said almost 14,000 people applied to support the four days of events. Applicants were chosen based on how early they applied, their connection to Nevada and Las Vegas, and if they had previous experience volunteering for a Super Bowl host city.

Not all are from the area. He said 44 states and 20 countries also are represented in the volunteer force.

Bobb said having a strong volunteer force feeds into a larger goal of making the region as hospitable as possible for the national NFL audience.

“We want to make sure we’re representing the Super Bowl and the NFL really well,” he said. “With the host committee, of course we want the Super Bowl to come back. It does a lot of great things for the local market. You want really good people to be representing not only the host committee and the NFL, but Las Vegas as well.”

Volunteers will most often be stationed at a Super Bowl-branded table in high-traffic spots, giving directional advice to tourists.

Mesa said she’s using her hospitality background to make sure visitors during Super Bowl week – up to 450,000 of them, according to estimates – are getting the most out of their Vegas vacation. She won’t make boiler-plate recommendations to visitors. Instead, she’ll tailor those suggestions to the guest’s budget, group size, hometown team and even the way they’d watch football normally.

Caesars Entertainment Regional President Sean McBurney said the “Herculean” volunteer effort supports the existing Strip workforce.

“So much of the guest experience is taking out the frustration — understanding where to go, how to navigate, what the transportation is like,” said McBurney, whose company sponsored the orientation. “All of these volunteers are going to make that experience smooth for all of the fans that are coming from around the globe.”

Mesa, who will be stationed at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center for the Super Bowl Experience, Allegiant Stadium and other locations in the days preceding the Feb. 11 game, said she and other volunteers took the unpaid positions to be a part of the action.

“Sometimes I don’t necessarily want a job, but I have so much to contribute and that is really fulfilling,” Mesa said. “Sometimes it’s more fulfilling than your job because you’re doing something with personal purpose. When you go to work, you do what you’re told. But when you’re going to something voluntarily, you really have to want to be there.”

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.