Super Bowl has grown from 1-day event to week-long party
IRVING, Texas — While the focus of a worldwide television audience will be on the game itself when Super Bowl LVIII is played at Allegiant Stadium in 2024, what will set Las Vegas apart as a host city is the week leading up to the game.
As the game has grown over the last half century, so too has the seven-day stage host cities use to make the event an all-inclusive experience in which the unique qualities of that particular region are accentuated.
In that regard, Las Vegas has a chance to differentiate itself among its colleagues across the NFL when the Super Bowl arrives in February 2024.
The NFL is anxious to see what Las Vegas has up its sleeve. After all, the city already sells out hotel rooms for the Super Bowl when the game is thousands of miles away.
That was part of the reason for approving the Raiders’ relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas. The NFL was eager to see how the experience Southern Nevada has in pulling off big events will benefit the league.
“As a market, we always looked at Las Vegas as an entertainment capital, someplace where we wanted to improve our events and bring a broader audience to them,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We’re excited.”
Las Vegas has not made public its plans for Super Bowl week, but based on past Super Bowls some standard elements will be in place.
Among them, the vast NFL Experience, which is expected to take place at one of the convention centers in Las Vegas. It typically is open every day during Super Bowl week. The Experience usually is the crown attraction, especially for young fans and families, as it features interactive games and autograph sessions.
The week will start with Super Bowl Opening Night, which brings out the oddities and insights from players, coaches and those who dare to call themselves journalists. The NFL Honors Show — sort of the Academy Awards of football — takes place at a local theater and includes a red carpet element on the night before the game.
In between, past Super Bowl weeks have featured a Taste of the NFL, which includes food fare representing all NFL cities, a fan fest, a Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibit, Play 60 kids events, Man of the Year awards, school functions and the Hall of Fame announcement for new enshrinees.
Las Vegas already is a destination for concerts, but even performers who normally don’t play the city — from all music genres — will seek out venues for single and multiple events.
Speaking of music, the buildup for the halftime show will start mid-week with its own ancillary press conferences and performances.
With Las Vegas so uniquely connected to the entertainment world, you can expect some major acts to be involved.
Of course, there also is an abundance of parties every night. There will be players parties. There will be agents parties. And there will be sponsors parties — think EA Sports and Nike and Under Armour and the like. Expect all the major venues around town to host Super Bowl-related parties.
Who knows? The Puppy Bowl might even take place on the Strip.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said. “I can’t even imagine, to be real honest. But it’s going to be amazing because there is so much to do. We’ve got all the room. We’ve got everything they need to make this just a smashing success.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.
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