Houston may be the official host city of the 2017 Super Bowl, but Sugar Land is considering its own plans to potentially benefit from the more than 1 million estimated attendees expected to converge on the Greater Houston area next year.
About 1.1 million people attended events associated with the 2016 Super Bowl in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he expects the same number of visitors, if not more, to attend the event in Houston in 2017.
The Super Bowl Host Committee is in active discussions with nearby cities to determine what types of events they can host and what the economic benefits will be, said Hasting Stewart, the committee’s executive vice president of public affairs.
“One thing we’re excited about is showcasing there’s a lot that’s changed in Houston since it hosted the game in 2004,” Stewart said. “We’re a growing, innovative, culturally diverse and exciting city. We’re more than just an energy town.”
Teresa Preza, the tourism administrator for Visit Sugar Land Convention and Visitor Services said the city does not have any concrete plans for Super Bowl-related events yet, but that could change if partnership opportunities arose.
“What we are currently doing is researching the impact of other Super Bowls on a community our size,” Preza said.
She said Sugar Land’s shopping and dining options as well as the regional airport would be affected with more traffic from Super Bowl patrons.
Randy Bloom, the vice president and general manager of the Smart Financial Center—a performing arts venue that will open in January of 2017—plans to host Super Bowl events.
Those ideas range from themed concerts to corporate events that would happen up to 10 days before the Super Bowl.
“I think there’s going to be an enormous amount of excitement in town around the event,” Bloom said. “People are going to want to get out and be entertained.”
Taylor Scott, the event program manager with PCD Management, which manages Sugar Land Town Square, said Town Square would potentially host events, with details to be released in the coming months.
Turner and other city officials met with their counterparts in San Francisco during this year’s Super Bowl to prepare for next year.
One of the easiest ways for the city to introduce visitors to the best shopping, dining and amenities of the Greater Houston area will be through the host committee’s volunteer force, where 10,000 people are needed, Stewart said.
“We are looking for the best and brightest across Houston to showcase the best of the city and make sure folks visiting have a wonderful experience,” Stewart said. Additional reporting by Bethany Knipp
