Opportunities, Challenges, and Legacy in Hosting Super Bowl LVII in Glendale Arizona

Opportunities, Challenges, and Legacy in Hosting Super Bowl LVII in Glendale Arizona

 This year, the State of Arizona hosted the coveted Super Bowl game. The game played to establish National Football League (NFL) Champion, attracted the attention of the American continent and the world. The event, which was held on Sunday, 12 February 2023, also attracted the attention of music lovers. Super Bowl 57 was graced by sensational Barbados singer Rihanna, who entertained fans.

Super Bowl dates back to 1960, forty years after the establishment of the NFL. The first Super Bowl game was held in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Different states, including Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Tampa, Glendale, San Diego, Atlanta, Houston, and San Francisco, have hosted the game more than once, with Miami topping the list by being a host eleven times. The 2023 Super Bowl LVII marked the fourth time the State of Arizona was hosting the largely watched event, with previous games being held in 1996, 2006, and 2015.

In this year’s Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs from Kansas City emerged as the winners with 38 points defeating Eagles from Philadelphia with a score of 35.

The initial host selection process, which involved the submission of bids for the hosting rights, was replaced with a unilateral agreement where a single host for each game was selected. The question remains, why do states look forwards to hosting this coveted game? Here we look at the opportunities, challenges, and legacy that the state of Arizona expected to derive from hosting the Super Bowl LVII.

 

Opportunities

 	
Economic Growth

In most cases, the opportunity to host the Super Bowl games is no accident but rather a strategy devised to diversify and evolve the US economy through different host states. Previous statistics show that the Super Bowl host usually witnesses economic growth during this period. For instance, Miami's local economy was expected to grow by $477 million in 2022, the year it hosted the game.

In 2020, when the game was conducted in Miami, the economy grew $571 million, whereas 4500 jobs were created.

History from previous years in which the game was held shows a great improvement in the state's economic capacity. It is also worth noting that the State of Arizona hosted the pro-bowl in 2015, leading to the economic growth of $720 million.

Super Bowl is the biggest sport of the year in the US, and with previous years recording high economic returns, the case was expected to be no different for Arizona. Super Bowl LVII was expected to boost the Arizona economy by generating $1 billion a $280 increase from the last time the state hosted the same event.

 	
Growth of the Hospitality Industry

Usually, the success rate for this event is measured through the city turn out. Sports-related events attract individuals from all over the world. The case was no different for the Super Bowl LVII, which was expected to attract close to 100 000 football fans globally.

Out of this number, 80%-90% would come from other states resulting in a tourist influx within Arizona States. This would then translate into a boost to local establishments such as bars, restaurants, hotels, and other related products and services.

From previous experiences, hotel rooms were found to be more than 200% expensive during the Super Bowl game week, which translates to high returns for the hospitality industry.

 	
Increase in Tax Revenue

Incoming fans from other states had the legal right to place a bet with their most preferred teams for the very first time ever since Super Bowl began. This was expected to trigger an increase in sports betting volume and similarly dramatically increase the tax revenue from sports betting. This would see the State of Arizona collecting millions of dollars in tax revenue.

From February 2022 to November 2022, the percentage of betting revenue in Arizona increased from $491,665,554 to $616,855,045, which translated to an increase from 5.2% to 8.9%. This just gives a view of what the State would be able to collect, supposing the expected turnout was achieved.

 

Challenges

 	
Tax Burden

Hosting Super Bowl requires income investment in preparing the stadium, among other things. Construction expenses associated with constructing stadiums large enough to host the Super Bowl are sourced from taxpayers.

NFL states that hosting the Super Bowl game generates close to $ 500 million, whereas the Journal of Sports Economics estimated that hosting the game only brings in around $130 million. Failure to meet the cost incurred in preparations burdens the taxpayer.

 

 	
Less than expected Turn-Out

As stated earlier, during the Super Bowl event, hotels are usually fully booked. There was a challenge of experiencing lower turnout than expected due to fans opting to stay in other states to avoid congestion. This would translate to reduced expected revenue from the hospitality industry, including hotels, bars, and restaurants.

 

Legacy

Arizona has had the privilege of hosting the Superbowl four times since the establishment of the game. This includes the Super Bowl LVII in Glendale between Eagles and Chiefs on 12 February 2023, Super Bowl XLIX on 1 Feb 2015 between New York Giants and the New England Patriots, Super Bowl XLII on 8 February 2008 between Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Stealers, and Super Bowl XXX on 28 January 1996.

Hosting the Super Bowl, LVII placed Arizona on a global map. In 2022, it was estimated that 50 million households watched the game across the United States. In 2023, close to 113 million people worldwide watched Super Bowl LVII. This paced the game in the second position as the most-watched game worldwide.

The host state's efficient facilitation of the game placed Arizona as one of the best places to host the game in the future.

Many States in America continue to look forward to hosting Super Bowl due to the economic benefit associated with the event.

This year’s event was quite unique because it gave fans the ability to place their bets on their favorite teams for the very first time in history a factor that was expected to drastically influence the State’s economy.  It has not been fully established whether the Super Bowl LVII met the intended target but judging from the turnout compared to other years, there was a change.

It is also worth noting that the economic effect of this event is not felt within the state immediately but usually takes time.