Super Bowl brings 6K media members to Vegas this week

More than 6,000 media from 26 countries are accredited to cover Super Bowl 58 and related events on-site in Las Vegas, an NFL representative said. (For comparison, the 2024 Paris Olympics capped credentialed media at 6,000.) Sports writers, broadcasters and other media members poured into the city this week for pre-game availability and to prepare to cover the big game.

The NFL reportedly selected the Luxor as the primary media hotel, with the Excalibur handling overflow. Members of the media could set up and work out of radio row at the nearby Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

James Phillips, a cameraman with Channel 9 Australia, said he and his outlet are covering the gamut of pre-game and post-game activities for an audience across the Pacific Ocean. Part of the reason his team was sent was to get a sense of what game day is like in Las Vegas — the team will return in two weeks for the National Rugby League’s season kick off on March 2 at Allegiant Stadium.

“I’ve been to Olympics before and this media group feels like that, which is insane for one game,” he said.

Members of the media interviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week seemed to have working, and getting that perfect interview or shot, on their minds rather than partying and gambling. Most said they were working 12-hour days, though they were planning to attend a NFL-sponsored media party Tuesday night.

Jeanna Kelley, an NFL editor with SB Nation based in Atlanta, said she has been to Super Bowls in Miami and Atlanta. She said while the other cities are also heavily involved in hospitality, this one appears to have a bigger draw.

“Vegas is such a destination anyway,” Kelley, who plans to use her free time to visit Bravo celebrity Lisa Vanderpump’s Vanderpump a Paris, said. “That can be said to some extent there, but it’s a big draw here. There’s so many opportunities and the city is set up to handle a massive amount of people.”

Josh Schrock, the Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago, said he was in town until Friday to get interviews with Bears players and other NFL Stars and bank programming content for the post-season. It’s his fifth time traveling for the Super Bowl and he noted how centralized the media access, practice fields and stadium are compared to previous host cities.

“It’s nice, everything’s closer together here,” Schrock said.

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.