For Las Vegas, a city accustomed to glitz, Super Bowl brings new kind of star power
LAS VEGAS ‒ The private jets are flying in, hotel rooms are filling up, and hundreds of thousands of fans are arriving for Sunday's Super Bowl.
“It’s our dreams come true to see,” said 49ers fan Robert Rodriguez, who traveled from Monterrey, Mexico for the game.
Dressed in a lucha libre costume honoring the 49ers, Rodriguez came to Las Vegas with a friend, German Robles, who is president of the 49ers Mexico Club. Rodriguez said he fell in love with the 49ers during the Joe Montana era, and hopes to be in Allegiant Stadium Sunday. The two took pictures together in front of the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign Friday morning.
Las Vegas officials predict festivities surrounding the game will attract more than 330,000 tourists and workers, and generate $600 million in revenue. What few tickets are still available for the game itself are being offered at more than $6,000 apiece on ticket reseller StubHub. The San Francisco 49ers are playing the Kansas City Chiefs, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. E.T.
Last year's game drew an estimated 113 million television viewers, but some fans want to be closer to the action, even if they're not attending the game itself.
Around the city, the festivities are all-but- inescapable: CBS broadcasters have taken over the promenade in front of Bellagio's famous fountains, and officially sanctioned NFL ambassadors are handing out commemorative buttons and snapping photos for fans all along the Strip.
The pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel has been wrapped to resemble a giant Dorito, and the 42-story Mandalay Bay's video display bears a giant golden football.
Even an adult-toy store got in on the action, with billboards slyly referencing pop superstar Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City's star tight end Travis Kelce.
At Signature Flight support, which handles private plane arrivals at the Las Vegas airport, workers answered phones with sad news: No more parking available until Feb. 14. Friday, about 90 private jets were crammed into any space workers could find, and even the airport in St. George, Utah, 120 miles away, was full.
“We’re here just to experience it all,” said football fan Patrick Shaughnessy, who drove about 300 miles from Phoenix with his family to stay at a friend’s house in the area.
Wearing a Kansas City Chiefs hat and a T-shirt with drawings of players Kelce and Patrick Mahomes on it, Shaughnessy said the NFL Experience, featuring autographs, trophy displays and a skills competition, was a big draw.
His wife, Melissa, said they went to the Experience in Arizona during last year’s Super Bowl and decided it was worth coming to Las Vegas for this one. They don't plan to attend the game ‒ not at those ticket prices ‒ but said they just planned to enjoy the weekend amidst the excitement.
And what if Swift makes an appearance?
“It would be cool!” Melissa Shaughnessy said. “But I don’t know if we’d even recognize her if we saw her walking past us.”
