Super Bowl 2026: 49ers, Levi’s Stadium expected to host
The Super Bowl could be back in the Bay Area soon.
The San Francisco 49ers’ bid to host Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium in February 2026 is expected to be accepted next week at the NFL owners’ meetings, a league source said Thursday. The vote of league owners is expected Monday or Tuesday.
CEO Jed York had recently indicated that the 49ers were likely to host the event, 10 years after Super Bowl 50 was played in Santa Clara.
“My optimism is very high,” York said. “I feel fairly confident. I don’t know for sure that we’re going to get Super Bowl 60, but I feel very confident that we’re going to get a Super Bowl in the near future.”
Said team President Al Guido in a statement Thursday: “If the Bay Area has the opportunity, we would be honored to host Super Bowl LX.”
Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor expressed enthusiasm for a potential Super Bowl while noting that Measure J does not allow city funds to support any Levi’s-related events.
“I think it’s going to be really good for Santa Clara and the entire Bay Area,” Gillmor said. “And our taxpayers should rest assured that we are protected and won’t pay a dime for this event. So it’s a win for everyone.”
A Super Bowl would be part of an eventful 2026 at Levi’s, a $1.3 billion venue which will also host World Cup soccer matches that year. The 49ers asked in late March to borrow $120 million from the NFL stadium fund for upgrades at Levi’s. The money would be used to upgrade premium seating and scoreboards at the stadium, which opened in July 2014.
“I think those are two of truly the largest sporting events in the world,” York said in March. “Having those back-to-back would be fantastic.”
The World Cup matches could be held in June 2026, about four months after a potential Super Bowl. Gillmor said the city would be repaid for all expenses it incurred to prepare for the events.
“To have two of the major sporting events in the world in our city, within months of each other in the same year, we all have to make sure we’re ready,” Gillmor said. “And that it doesn’t cost our taxpayers. That’s my concern being from a medium-sized city that has this big-city asset. We have to make sure we’re prepared and financially covered.”
The game would be the third Super Bowl played in the Bay Area. Levi’s hosted Super Bowl 50 in February 2016, when the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in the last game of quarterback Peyton Manning’s career. The 49ers beat the Dolphins 38-16 in Super Bowl XIX in January 1985 at Stanford Stadium.
In 2016, the game was promoted as the “San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl.” And San Francisco, located 45 miles from Santa Clara, played a major role in hosting Super Bowl-related festivities, most of which were open to the public. Those included interactive exhibits, football-related games and musical performances.
Meanwhile, Super Bowl media day was held at the SAP Center in San Jose and the Broncos and Panthers stayed and practiced in the South Bay. Denver held practices at Stanford and Carolina was at San Jose State.
There is expected to be a similar arrangement for Super Bowl 60, but plans remain fluid, a source said.
The city of San Francisco made nearly $2 million from Super Bowl 50, the city controller said in a report released three months after the game.
City departments spent $9.6 million on expenses — more than twice as much as was projected — but it was offset by $11.6 million in revenue from airport and hotel sales taxes generated by the event.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
