Overview of Super Bowl LVII

The Super Bowl LVII storm came through Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023 leaving its mark on the state in many ways. 

 

The match between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs took place in Glendale, Arizona at the State Farm Stadium. This was the first Super Bowl played in the Grand Canyon State since 2015 also taking place on the same weekend as the WM Phoenix Open making it a large weekend for sports fans in the area. 

 

The Super Bowl is the most-watched sporting event in the United States. Arizona locals felt the impact of this once-a-year sporting phenomenon as tourists poured into the Greater Phoenix area. Although Super Bowl LVII took place on Sunday, over 20 other events were hosted throughout the week attracting large crowds for multiple days. 

 

Being the host city of the Super Bowl requires multiple different aspects to be factored into the equation such as the impact on the economy, environment, and ASU community. 

 

Anthony Evans, a senior research fellow for the L. William Seidman Institute, the consultancy arm of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, estimated in a report with ASU news that 90 to 110,000 fans visited Arizona for Super Bowl LVII. He also highlighted the additional 5,800 media personnel that would be there to cover the game. These numbers exclude both football teams, family, coaches and crew that stayed in Arizona for the weekend. 

 

In a report from Axios, the Super Bowl Host Committee had to pledge to spend $45 million which increased from the $28 million for the 2015 game. 

 

Although there were millions of dollars spent in preparation for Super Bowl LVII, the money earned back from the event largely surpassed that mark. The 2015 Super Bowl and related events, “produced a gross economic impact of $719.4 million in the region,” said Evans. “This year’s big game combined with the Waste Management Open (Feb. 6–12) and Car Week (Jan. 21–29) is expected to help the Valley surpass the $1 billion mark.”

 

The infusion of new money into the local economy will help offset the increased costs spent on additional security and emergency services for the big events. 

 

 

With the increase of people and money into Arizona also comes a large increase in waste. 

 

It was estimated by National Geographic three years prior that the Super Bowl generates up to 40 tons of waste. This does not include the waste generated from the many events leading up to the big game and the events happening at the same time. 

 

The NFL launched green initiatives to help combat the environmental impact left on the host city. 

 

NFL Green worked closely with local communities around Arizona to plant over 80 trees. Along with the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, NFL Green also held their largest restoration event at Salt River on Jan. 21, 2023. 

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According to the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee the green initiatives should remove the impact of over 10,000 pounds of carbon emissions by 2030. They also pledged to achieve a 92% waste diversion rate at the Super Bowl Experience at Hance Park in downtown Phoenix. 

 

Super Bowl LVII was able to surpass the 92% waste diversion with 92.6% making it the greenest Super Bowl ever and officially earning the title of a Zero Waste Event with the help of the Public Works Department according to the Zero Waste Coordinator Alexis Yaple. 

 

This was made possible through the Zero Waste Ambassadors program. Volunteers helped manage compost, recycle and trash bins throughout the downtown Phoenix area to encourage visitors to throw waste into the correct receptacle and divert waste away from landfills. 

 

“It was really important for us to showcase our sustainability efforts here in Phoenix and for the Public Works Department we have a goal of reaching zero waste by the year 2050 and so for us it was really important to show that we can make such a big event a zero waste event,” said Yaple. 

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Although the Super Bowl was not held as Arizona State University like the 1996 game, the school was not left out of the wide impact. 

 

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Schneiderman shared that it was an exciting time for the state and the students. She said, “The game is just one part of it, but its all the auxiliary events, its the people, its the economic impact, its people not going to the game, but feeling just as involved through volunteering or maybe working. To me that’s what makes it a community event.”