With the buzz of one of the NFL’s greatest playoff weekends of football still lingering, Arizona — and Glendale — on Monday officially kicked off the countdown to Super Bowl 57, which is now a little more than a year away.
The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, the Arizona Office of Tourism and a host of dignitaries gathered in the courtyard of downtown Phoenix’s Bank of America Tower to kick off the countdown. Technically the official “hand-off” to Arizona comes at the conclusion of next month’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles when an Arizona contingent will be on hand at SoFi Stadium to take the ball.
But the state got the party started by unveiling the official host committee logo and discussing what’s ahead.
“The league is on top right now and has never been hotter,” Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in his remarks. “And not only will our Arizona Cardinals have a real shot to be playing at home next year, but we’re going to be able to put our state again on full display for the rest of the nation and the entire world.”
Arizona will host its fourth Super Bowl — and third in Glendale — at State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12, 2023. Arizona previously hosted Super Bowls in 1996 (at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe), 2008 and 2015.
The last big game in Glendale, in 2015, was memorable as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24, including with a goal-line interception with 20 seconds left to play.
It was also memorable for being, according to Nielsen, the most watched event in television history, as well as for its economic impact to Arizona of $719 million, which remains the largest impact to any state from a Super Bowl.
When the state learned back in 2018 that it would again host the big game in 2023, Arizona Cardinals owner and President Michael Bidwill announced an investment plan of $100 million for State Farm Stadium between the Cardinals, the Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority, which owns the facility, and the city of Glendale.
With recent passage of legalized sports betting in Arizona through gaming compacts with tribal communities, a new BetMGM facility will be built on the grounds, among other improvements and additions.
“So the number is approaching $150 million that we will have invested into the stadium and to the property around it to enhance that gameday experience and make State Farm Stadium and Arizona the best site of a Super Bowl in the United States,” Bidwill said Monday morning.
Also announced Monday was news that Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald will serve as executive chairman of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee.
Since opening in 2006, studies estimate State Farm Stadium has generated more than $5 billion in economic impact, according to the Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority. The stadium also has hosted two National College Football Championship games and the 2017 NCAA Final Four basketball championship.
For the first time as Super Bowl hosts, Glendale in 2021 became an official sponsor of Super Bowl 57 with a $1 million sponsorship agreement. The payment will be made in four installments through September of this year and will come from the city’s general fund.
“In 2015 Glendale really was on the sidelines,” City Manager Kevin Phelps said Monday. “We didn’t provide any financial support to the host committee. I made it very clear that if we get the award to have the game back in Glendale that the city would step up and do our part in a significant way, which we’ve done.”
Glendale had just under 1,100 hotel rooms when the big game was in town in 2015, Phelps noted. By next February, the city will have almost 2,400. That will include the future Crystal Lagoons Island Resort, at the southeast corner of Cardinals Way and Loop 101 and adjacent to State Farm Stadium, which is expected to bring an estimated $700 million in new sales, property and bed tax revenues to the city, county and state during the next 25 years, including a portion to Glendale of $240 million.
Within a few weeks from now there will be 1,000 workers on site, Phelps said.
“They’re fully expecting to be open before the Super Bowl,” he added.
Steve Stockmar News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment
YourValley.net @stevestockmar
Meet Steve Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.
Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.
Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.
Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.
Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.
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