Super Bowl 60 Brings Big Business, Bigger Questions to Bay Area
On the eve of Super Bowl 60, downtown San Jose was buzzing. The Brit Sports Pub & Patio was shoulder-to-shoulder with football fans, spilling out onto the sidewalks well into the night.
For local bar owner Jasbir Singh, it was more than just a party-it was a windfall. Singh said his business surged 250% above normal over the weekend.
“This is the time to make money,” he said. And he wasn’t alone.
Across the Bay Area, the Super Bowl brought a tidal wave of economic activity. With Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara playing host, thousands of fans poured into the region, filling up hotel rooms, shopping downtown, and packing restaurants and bars from San Francisco to San Jose.
The event, according to organizers, generated hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact. While some economists are skeptical of the exact figures, there’s no denying the buzz-and the business-it created.
Jed York, principal owner of the San Francisco 49ers, the Super Bowl’s host franchise, was quick to tout the game’s benefits. “We’ve done about $500 million of economic impact in the Bay Area,” York said last week. “Over 100,000 room nights, countless events in the communities-we’ve donated close to $10 million back in the community just this week, and that’s a part of the lasting impact.”
Those numbers are based on a 2024 report commissioned by the Bay Area Host Committee and conducted by Boston Consulting Group. The report projected a regional boost between $370 million and $630 million, along with $16 million in tax revenue for local governments. A follow-up report is expected in the coming months, which should provide a clearer picture of the final economic footprint.
But not everyone is buying the hype.
Roger Noll, professor emeritus of economics at Stanford, has long been skeptical of these kinds of projections. “I just find them almost a joke because they’re so non-serious,” he said, pointing out that many studies fail to account for where the money actually ends up.
A good chunk of hotel and rental car revenue, for instance, goes to national chains headquartered outside the region. And while bars and restaurants may see a surge in business during Super Bowl week, others may lose out when locals stay home or steer clear of the chaos.
There’s also the issue of displacement. Regular tourists and locals often avoid Super Bowl hotspots due to congestion and inflated prices, meaning some of the spending attributed to the event may simply be replacing what would’ve happened anyway.
After Santa Clara hosted its first Super Bowl in 2016, a separate report estimated the economic impact at $240 million-about $325 million in today’s dollars. That study, conducted by SportsImpacts, used a more conservative methodology and attempted to account for some of the criticisms economists like Noll have raised.
Santa Clara officials are planning a detailed analysis of sales tax receipts from Super Bowl 60, though the timeline for that report remains uncertain. San Jose and San Francisco, which hosted numerous events and visitors, are leaning on the Bay Area Host Committee’s estimates for now.
What’s already clear, though, is that the economic benefits weren’t evenly distributed. While Santa Clara hosted the game, San Francisco saw the lion’s share of the action. Major concerts and fan events were staged in the city, and many visitors opted to stay there-45 miles north of the stadium-rather than in Santa Clara itself.
According to the host committee’s projections, San Francisco may have brought in between $250 million and $440 million, compared to $100 million to $160 million for Santa Clara County. That tracks with the 2016 breakdown, which showed 57% of Super Bowl revenue going to San Francisco, and just 7.2% to Santa Clara.
But Jeff Bellisario, executive director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, sees the regional spread as a strength. “There’s a clear net positive regionally when you think about the numbers here, no matter what kind of math any economist is doing,” he said. Instead of concentrating all the spending in one small area, the Super Bowl spread the wealth across multiple cities.
In San Jose, the numbers back that up. The city reported 459,200 visitors during Super Bowl week-a 25% jump from the same time last year.
Hotel occupancy climbed 21% compared to 2016’s Super Bowl, and hotel revenue surged 45%. Public transit also saw a spike, with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority setting a new single-day light rail ridership record, moving more than 30,000 fans to Levi’s Stadium and other events.
Of course, hosting the Super Bowl isn’t cheap. Cities had to ramp up law enforcement, boost transportation services, and manage a slew of logistical challenges.
To help offset those costs, the Bay Area Host Committee agreed to reimburse Santa Clara for an estimated $6.4 million in expenses. The city received a $2.2 million advance in January, and plans to submit its final invoice by May 1.
Still, not everyone in Santa Clara was convinced the deal would cover the full cost. Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who opposed the agreement, expressed concern that law enforcement expenses could push the final bill even higher.
When voters approved Levi’s Stadium back in 2010, they included provisions to protect the city’s general fund from footing the bill for stadium-related costs. “The party’s over, and we need to have our bills paid,” Gillmor said.
Despite the financial caution, Gillmor acknowledged the week’s success. Beyond the dollars and cents, the Super Bowl gave Santa Clara a chance to shine on the global stage. With six World Cup matches coming to town this summer, the city is hoping to parlay that momentum into long-term gains-more tourism, more business investment, and a stronger regional identity.
And then there’s the intangible: civic pride. “Bad Bunny performed in Santa Clara, and we’re excited about that,” Gillmor said. “We’re going to be living on this for a while.”
For a region steeped in tech and innovation, Super Bowl 60 was a reminder that sports still have the power to bring people-and dollars-together. The final economic scorecard is still being tallied, but for now, the Bay Area is enjoying the afterglow of a week when football took center stage.