San Francisco

“This Isn't Just Any Super Bowl:” Plans for “Super Bowl City 50” Unveiled

There's 291 days to go.

But the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee unveiled plans and images on Tuesday, which boast a temporary “Super Bowl City,” showing happy football fans lining the streets of San Francisco - the iconic Ferry Building and Bay Bridge gleaming in the background.

"This isn't just any Super Bowl," San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said at a news conference. "It's the 50th."

Members of the host committee took off black cloths from renderings that revealed what the "Super Bowl City”  fan village will look like, and the new black and gold logo, with artistic symbols of the city's famous Coit Tower and bridges in the background.

In all, host committee spokesman PJ Johnston told NBC Bay Area that  more than $40 million "in money and services" has been raised so far for the "entire set of host commitee responsibilities." But that number doesn't accurately portray the final sum that will cover the cost of the entire "Super Bowl City."

The final cost is "not yet determined," Johnston said. "The more money we raise, the more we can do, and the more we can give to charity."

Host committee chairman Daniel Lurie said 25 percent of what is raised will go to charities. And all the money that will be used, organizers stressed, will come from the private sector.

A highlight of the news conference is when former San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott addressed the crowd, saying how "excited" he was about this "great day." Then he bowed his head for Bob St. Clair, a legendary 49er offensive lineman who died Monday at the age of 84.

Most of the announcement focused on the Super Bowl 2016 amenities for the one million expected to come out in force and experience the non-game aspects of the country's biggest football display:

The temporary "Super Bowl City" will be free to the public beginning on Jan. 30, 2016, at Justin Herman Plaza at the foot of Market Street. The village will offer a week of family-friendly activities, cultural displays, food trucks, according to the host committee.

That experience will be accompanied by an interactive theme park at Moscone Center in San Francisco. The host committee is billing this as the ultimate “NFL experience” with games, displays, youth football clinics, a fan viewing gallery and free autograph sessions with pro players. The Lombardi Trophy will be trotted out for the public to see before it’s handed over to the Super Bowl champs.

And of course, there’s the Big Game on Feb. 7, hosted at the new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, about an hour’s drive south from San Francisco.

“Many people don’t realize that Super Bowls are more than just a game,” Host Committee CEO Keith Bruce said. “They are week-long extravaganzas.”

More information is kept on the Super Bowl City website and Facebook page.
 

NBC Bay Area's Mark Matthews contributed to this report. 

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