Super Bowl LI

Super Bowl LI
Date February 5, 2017
Stadium NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Ceremonies
Halftime show Lady Gaga[1]
TV in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Joe Buck (play-by-play)
Troy Aikman (analyst)
Erin Andrews and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)

Super Bowl LI will be the 51st Super Bowl and the 47th modern-era National Football League (NFL) championship game. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion will play the National Football Conference (NFC) champion to decide the league champion for the 2016 season.

The game is scheduled for February 5, 2017,[2] at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, and will be the third time the Super Bowl is held in Houston, after VIII in 1974 and XXXVIII in 2004. It will be televised nationally in the United States by Fox.[3][4]

The Super Bowl LI halftime show will be headlined by Lady Gaga.

Background

Host-selection process

NRG Stadium in January 2007

The NFL selected the sites for Super Bowl 50 and Super Bowl LI at the owners' spring meetings in Boston on May 21, 2013.[5] On October 16, 2012, the NFL announced that Reliant Stadium in Houston, which was renamed NRG Stadium in 2014, was a finalist to host Super Bowl LI.[6] Houston then competed against the runner-up for the site of Super Bowl 50: Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.[5][6] The South Florida bid for either Super Bowl partially depended on whether the stadium underwent renovations. However, on May 3, the Florida legislature refused to approve the funding plan to pay for the renovations, dealing a blow to South Florida's chances.[7] The NFL ultimately selected Houston as the host city of Super Bowl LI.[8]

Proposition 1 controversy

Proposition 1, an ordinance which would have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment, public accommodations, and city contracting, was rejected by voters (60.97% opposing[9]) during the November 3, 2015 elections. Subsequently, the NFL announced it will not alter plans to have the city host Super Bowl LI.[10][11] Houston Texans owner Bob McNair donated $10,000 to Campaign for Houston, an organization that opposes the ordinance, which he later rescinded. McNair has a long history of supporting conservative political causes.[12] There are still concerns for corporate sponsorship and entertainment backlash against Super Bowl LI.[10]

Houston Super Bowl Host Committee

The Houston Super Bowl Host Committee is the centralized planning entity for Super Bowl LI and acts as the liaison between the NFL, City of Houston, Harris County, Texas and the local community. The Host Committee is a private non-profit 501(c)(6) Texas corporation, and is responsible for Super Bowl LI festivities and logistics. The Houston Super Bowl Host Committee is led by Honorary Chairman James A. Baker, III, Chairman Ric Campo, and President and CEO Sallie Sargent.[13] Four countdown clocks have been installed around the City of Houston to countdown the days until Super Bowl LI. The LED screen shows the number of days until kickoff and displays other important messages related to preparations for Super Bowl LI. The countdown clocks are located at NRG Stadium, George Bush International Airport, William P. Hobby Airport, and Discovery Green.[14]

Super Bowl LIVE is a fan festival that will run from January 28 until February 5 in downtown Houston centered in and around Discovery Green. Super Bowl LIVE is a free event with food, music, entertainment, attractions, and more to allow the whole city to experience the excitement of Super Bowl LI without a ticket to the game. More than one million people are expected to attend the event.[15] The Touchdown Tour is a way to excite the Houston community about the 2016-2017 football season culminating in Super Bowl LI. These are free events located around the City of Houston with music, food, entertainment, and interactive games. The first Touchdown Tour occurred at Space Center Houston on August 27, 2016.[16] The second Touchdown Tour occurred in Sugar Land at Constellation Field on September 2, 2016.[17]

Volunteers are crucial to the success of Super Bowl LI. The committee will utilize up to 10,000 volunteers during the 10-day period leading up to Super Bowl LI.[18] On August 22, 2016, the recruitment center opened to begin the process of interviewing all volunteer applicants. More than 15,000 individuals will be interviewed to create the 10,000-person volunteer team needed to assist in the events leading up to Super Bowl LI and be ambassadors of the Houston region.[19]

Business Connect is a program designed to provide minority, female, LGBT, and disabled veteran-owned businesses opportunities to bid for contracts on events related to Super Bowl LI.[20] Super Bowl LI Business Connect is a partnership between the National Football League and the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee to link diverse Houston area suppliers to contracting opportunities related to Super Bowl LI. The program’s intent is to provide networking, educational and other business development opportunities to encourage greater business success for each participant.

Touchdown Houston is the Host Committee’s charitable giving program committed to donating $4 million into Houston region non-profit organizations. The program focuses on three key areas: education, health and wellness, and community enhancement.[21]

TD is the mascot for the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee. TD wears a football jersey with the number “51” to represent Super Bowl LI. He can be found at a majority of the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee’s events as well as other events leading up to the Big Game.[22]

Halftime show

References

  1. ↑ "Lady Gaga headlines Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show". NFL. September 29, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Houston Super Bowl Host Committee announces date of Super Bowl LI". KTRK-TV. Houston: ABC Inc. May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ Evans, Pete (January 29, 2015). "CRTC to allow U.S. Super Bowl commercials starting in 2017". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ Molloy, Tim (December 14, 2011). "NBC, Fox, CBS Extend NFL Deals Through 2022". TheWrap.com. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "NFL plans "spectacular" Super Bowl L | ProFootballTalk". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
  6. 1 2 McClain, John (October 16, 2012). "Houston a finalist to host Super Bowl LI in 2017". San Antonio Express-News. Houston: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Fla. Legislature refuses to aid Fins". ESPN. Associated Press. May 3, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  8. ↑ Rosenthal, Gregg (May 21, 2013). "San Francisco awarded Super Bowl L; Houston lands LI". National Football League. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Cumulative Report, Harris County, Texas, General and Special Elections" (PDF). HARRISVotes.com. November 3, 2015. 9.
  10. 1 2 Robinson, Charles (November 7, 2015). "NFL won't alter Houston Super Bowl plans after city's repeal of non-discrimination law". sports.yahoo.com. Houston: Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  11. ↑ Gryboski, Michael (October 18, 2015). "Former Astros Star Speaks Out Against Houston's Transgender Bathroom Ordinance". Christian Post. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Gibbs, Lindsay (2015-10-16). "Texans Owner Donates $10,000 To Fight LGBT Protections In Houston". ThinkProgress.org. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  13. ↑ Hodge, Shelby (November 2, 2014). “Houston’s Super Bowl logo revealed – and it’s a look no one saw coming”. CultureMap Houston. Houston: CultureMap LLC. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  14. ↑ (May 9, 2016). “Super Bowl LI Countdown Clock Unveiled at Hobby Airport”. Houston Airports. Houston: Houston Airport System. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ Heinrich, Garret. (May 24, 2016). “Houston Super Bowl Committee Debuts Plans For ‘Super Bowl LIVE’”. CBSHouston. Houston: CBS Local Media. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  16. ↑ Young, Erica (August 23, 2016). “Houstonians invited to Touchdown Tour experience this weekend”. KPRC Houston. Houston: Click2Houston.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  17. ↑ (August 31, 2016). “Houston Super Bowl Host Committee announces Touchdown Tour stop in Sugar Land”. The Katy Rancher. Woodlands: Your Houston News. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  18. ↑ Wilson, Aaron (February 16, 2016). “Houston Super Bowl committee seeks volunteers”. Houston Chronicle. Houston: Hearts Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  19. ↑ Cooper, Nakia (August 18, 2016). “Houston Super Bowl Host Committee to open recruitment center to interview volunteer candidates”. CW39. Houston: KIAH. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  20. ↑ Chen, Angela (April 16, 2016). “Business Connect brings together Super Bowl Host Committee, contractors”. Fox 26. Houston: Fox Television Stations, LLC. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  21. ↑ (April 8, 2016). “Super Bowl committee launches new program for community”. KHOU 11. Houston: KHOU-TV. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ [10] Cano, Stephanie (January 15, 2016). “Houston Super Bowl Host Committee Unveils Mascot for 2017”. Mix96.5. Houston: CBS Local Media. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.