Numbers released by the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee provide a pretty good measure of what Atlanta can expect when the big game comes here next year.
The Minnesota committee said Super Bowl Live, the 10-day outdoor festival that preceded the Feb. 4 game in Minneapolis, drew total attendance of 1.055 million people. That included 235,000 on the peak day, the eve of the game.
The committee also said some 10,000 local volunteers helped with various Super Bowl events and functions, working a total of 33,000 shifts and 185,000 hours.
Among other statistics tallied and released by the Minnesota host committee:
48: Bands and artists who performed in free concerts at Super Bowl Live.
150: Super Bowl-related events held in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
1,420: Total miles that 10,000 people collectively traveled in ziplines that were part of the downtown festival.
1,630: Private jet arrivals at Minneapolis-St. Paul airports during Super Bowl week.
5,800: Media members, from 25 countries, who were credentialed to cover the game and related events.
1.4 million: Visitors to Mall of America, site of NFL Fan Gallery, in the 10 days before the game.
The committee hasn’t yet released a figure for the game’s economic impact on the area. The figure, reportedly still being calculated, is sure to be debated by economists.
The Super Bowl spectacle comes to Atlanta next year for the first time since 2000.
An event similar to Minnesota’s Super Bowl Live will be held here, almost certainly in and around Centennial Olympic Park, leading up to Super Bowl 53 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Feb. 3, 2019. Atlanta’s version of Super Bowl Live is expected to include concerts, fireworks shows and other activities, although the NFL won’t finalize plans until spring or summer.
Some elements of Minnesota’s festival, such as ice castles, snowmobile stunts and sleigh rides, obviously won’t be repeated here. Nor will the virtual-reality trip to “Mars and back” that was a highlight of Super Bowl Live in Houston a year ago. But yet-undetermined attractions will take their places.
Atlanta’s host committee plans to match Minnesota’s volunteer force of 10,000, with recruitment to begin in the coming months.
In addition to Super Bowl Live, events will include interactive indoor theme park Super Bowl Experience, which likely will be held in the Georgia World Congress Center, and Super Bowl Opening Night, the event formerly known as Media Day and likely to be held in Philips Arena.
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