With the first of three major sporting events in Silicon Valley right around the corner, the fruits of San Jose’s planning efforts will become more apparent over the next few weeks. The city continues its push to boost potential financial windfalls while creating a memorable experience for residents and sports fans alike.
As Santa Clara becomes the first city ever to host both the Super Bowl and World Cup matches in the same calendar year, San Jose has invested significant time focusing on events surrounding these big games. This week, 2026 banners will begin lining street poles, and the city is expected to announce — over the next four weeks — some of the national headlining acts it has secured for the 13 concerts planned across San Jose during gamedays.
“One of the things that’s happened with these sporting events is they become so cost-prohibitive that the average person can’t go and there’s flat out just not enough tickets,” Sports and Special Events Director Tommy O’Hare said at Monday’s Economic Development Committee meeting. “We think that’s a bad look for the community, so we want to make sure that everybody in the community has an experience where they feel like they’ve had a Super Bowl experience, they’ve had a March Madness experience and they’ve had a World Cup experience.”
Between the Super Bowl, the World Cup, and NCAA March Madness games scheduled at The SAP Center, Silicon Valley could reap several hundred million dollars in economic activity. The region again competes with San Francisco for a share of this financial pie.
Back in 2016, when Levi’s Stadium last hosted the Super Bowl, San Francisco saw the lion’s share of the activity despite the big game taking place in Santa Clara. This drew disappointment from city officials who felt snubbed while recognizing they had missed an opportunity. To avoid a repeat, San Jose officials have emphasized the need for thorough preparation, including hiring a temporary sports and special events director to spearhead and coordinate efforts.
The city’s policy work has focused on updating its supergraphics ordinance, creating entertainment zones, fostering more connected neighborhoods, and improving wayfinding to key areas. Marketing efforts have ramped up, featuring a “Fly, Stay and Play” campaign, along with enhanced programming such as 100 watch parties, several drone shows, projection-mapping events, and 13 concerts on gamedays.
The first watch party is set for December 5, coinciding with FIFA’s World Cup draw.
In addition to events, San Jose has addressed aesthetic and community concerns. The city removed one of its most visible eyesores for visitors flying into the airport by clearing Columbus Park. It has also created a working group involving multiple departments aimed at reducing the impacts of encampments downtown and around priority event areas, according to the latest status report. However, the city did not respond to requests for comment regarding which areas will be prioritized or what resources, including potential interim housing, will be provided if encampments blocking public rights-of-way need to be cleared.
San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch shared plans for a new visitor center at 93 E. San Carlos St., awaiting a contract signature from the city manager’s office. The center will serve as a one-stop shop for hotels, restaurants, bars, retail establishments, and all 10 city districts. Besides selling merchandise for San Jose-based teams, the visitor center will feature a podcast studio, a community boardroom, and programming space. During each marquee sporting event, it will also sell event-specific merchandise.
Despite San Francisco’s natural role in hosting the Super Bowl week fanfest — due to the lack of adequate facilities in the South Bay — the NFL has announced it will host several other sponsored events there prior to the big game on February 8. This raises questions about whether San Jose has made sufficient inroads.
Last month’s Super Bowl flag-raising ceremony at San Francisco City Hall made only scant mention of other Bay Area cities, despite the game taking place in Santa Clara County. The NFL also announced it would host an innovation summit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on February 6.
The flag-raising event drew the attention of land-use consultant Bob Staedler, who remarked, “This should have been done in Santa Clara, where the game is going to be played. Looks like this will be a San Francisco event. San Jose looks to be left behind again.”
With the Moscone Center already hosting the fan experience event from February 4 through February 7, the NFL announced last week it would also move the February 3 Pro Bowl to the convention center.
San Jose officials have spent the past several months trying to secure the rights to Super Bowl media day — known as Opening Day — but the NFL has yet to announce its decision. Poch told The Mercury News last month that he could not comment on Super Bowl activations until the NFL made its official statement. “Wish I could say more, but the NFL was very clear in the message,” he said.
San Jose also intends to host an event around the arrival of both Super Bowl participants, who will fly into San Jose Mineta International Airport on February 1.
While the success of the city’s planning efforts remains to be seen, the events have already generated a wave of hotel bookings as participating teams plan to stay locally. So far for the Super Bowl, the city has reported nearly 7,000 hotel room nights booked.
One Super Bowl participant will stay in Santa Clara and practice at Stanford University, while the other will use San Jose State’s facility and stay at the downtown San Jose Marriott. NFL staff will use the Signia by Hilton and the downtown Hilton Hotel.
World Cup planning appears to be progressing even better, with 58,600 room nights booked. Levi’s Stadium will host six games over a few weeks in the summer. Participating teams will stay at the downtown San Jose Marriott and Hilton hotels, while the Hotel Valencia will serve as the VIP hotel.
City officials also revealed that San Jose State has applied to serve as a potential base camp for a World Cup team, pending FIFA’s final approval of eligible sites.
As Silicon Valley prepares for this remarkable trifecta of sporting events, all eyes will be on San Jose to see how effectively it can capitalize on the opportunity and deliver an unforgettable experience for visitors and locals alike.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/10/28/with-the-super-bowl-world-cup-and-march-madness-approaching-will-san-jose-escape-san-franciscos-shadow/