NFL owners set to OK 49ers' Levi's Stadium as host of Super Bowl 60 in 2026
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- It's been seven years since Levi's Stadium hosted the big game, now there's a lot of excitement in the Bay Area over the possibility of the Super Bowl making its return in 2026.
"This is an opportunity to bring back and raise the pride of San Francisco," said San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai.
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According to ESPN reports, the 49ers bid to host Super Bowl 60 in 2026 is slated for approval by the NFL next week.
In a statement, Levi Stadium's home City of Santa Clara said: "The City is excited about the potential opportunity to have the Super Bowl back in Santa Clara and to work with the Bay Area Host Committee pending the NFL Owners meeting decision next week."
The potential opportunity also has business organizations, like the Hotel Council of San Francisco excited as well.
"It'll benefit our hotels, yes, it'll benefit our workers, it'll benefit our tax base," said Alex Bastian, the council's CEO. "It'll also help our partners, the restaurants, the coffee shops, the small businesses in our city and in the Bay Area."
Though millions of dollars were estimated to have been brought to the Bay Area when the Super Bowl was at Levi's Stadium in 2016, a big event doesn't always mean big money for the businesses just down the street from the stadium.
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Some of them say it could keep their potential customers away.
"The people who are coming for the event, they come early and park here," said Prakash, the manager of Santa Clara restaurant Ambur Biryaniz Indian Cuisine. "They block the roads."
Many other businesses in the South Bay also say they didn't experience huge boosts from the last Super Bowl.
Many of the events surrounding game day were in San Francisco.
If the Super Bowl comes back around, the San Jose Downtown Association says it's hopeful that South Bay businesses will benefit.
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"The more events, the more activations we bring into this area, the more will actually affect our downtown as well, because downtown San Jose is an entertainment district," said the association's CEO Alex Stettinski, "If people come here to celebrate the Super Bowl, they will be drawn to Downtown San Jose."
San Francisco supervisor Ahsha Safai says he's confident that people throughout the Bay Area *will benefit from the potential tourists.
"They're going to go to the local cities, they're going to go to the local hotels, local restaurants, local shops, and then (there will be) those in the service sector that service those employees and long-term job and benefits," Safai said, "I think that is going to really be the long-term benefit is the strength of the economy."
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