By Frank Pingue
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Bay Area is betting big on technology to make this year’s Super Bowl stand out, with organisers planning a first-of-its-kind innovation summit as the region prepares to host two of the world’s biggest sporting events in one calendar year.
Zaileen Janmohamed, President and CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee, said the region will lean heavily into Silicon Valley’s reputation as the global center for high technology, featuring what she called a “first-of-its-kind” Super Bowl Innovation Summit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on Friday.
“Between the Bay Area Host Committee and the NFL we realised that when you have the biggest event in sport in the United States come to the innovation capital of the world you have to talk about technology and innovation,” Janmohamed said.
“It’s just part of the entire narrative that we are trying to create from a host committee perspective.”
The Bay Area will make history as the first region to host both the Super Bowl and soccer World Cup (games) in the same calendar year, giving locals what Janmohamed described as much-needed energy after the pandemic downturn.
“There’s so much energy by being the epicentre of sport for so long. There’s a lot of pride and a little bit of swagger and things that people who live here probably need right now,” said Janmohamed.
“It’s so great for the region to have the two events (Super Bowl and World Cup games) in one year. There’s a lot of pride in doing something that’s never been done before.”
The Seattle Seahawks will face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Janmohamed, who joined the BAHC in March 2023 and spent her first 12 weeks preparing the bid, said this Super Bowl will feel different from when the Bay Area last hosted the game 10 years ago. “The city and the region have changed so much through that time,” she noted.
For Janmohamed, success won’t just be measured by the game itself.
She spoke instead about the BAHC’s two signature legacy programmes, one aimed at providing inclusive and high-quality sports infrastructure for young people in the region, and an employment programme designed to create job opportunities for communities that experience workforce barriers.
“What we want to make sure is even if you are not going to the game, you as a resident of the Bay feel like this has positively impacted you,” she said.
“That’s how I’ll define success.”
(Reporting by Frank PingueEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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