Homefield Advantage?

What Super Bowl L Means to Bay Area Sports Fans

By Maritza Maldonado

Sports in the Bay! Exclusive

On May 21, 2013, the National Football League (NFL) announced that the San Francisco 49ers’ new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara won the bid to host Super Bowl L. This monumental announcement comes after a big push from the Bay Area Super Bowl Bid Committee in trying to secure the game. The committee’s bid highlighted the “state-of-the-art” stadium design and innovation being incorporated in the stadium which is currently being built.

Jim Harbaugh may have lost the SuperBowl to his brother John but many predict the San Francisco returning to the big game and winning it all. No better way to do it than at home in a new stadium led by their fathers childhood chant: "Who has it better than us? Nobody!" 

I wanted to hear the thoughts of some Bay Area football fans on the the NFL’s prestigious 50^th championship game is coming to town. Bay Area sports enthusiast, Alise Levine lives five minutes away from the new stadium site. “I’m excited beyond belief,” said Levine who is a Raiders fan. “This is a great opportunity for all of the Bay Area, its economy, and it brings so much fun for everyone who chooses to participate in it. I know the Bay Area will do a good, classy job of hosting Super Bowl L and all of the activities that will surround it.”

Levine has attended several Super Bowl festivities in other host cities and is looking forward to all of the events synonymous with the Super Bowl, including the NFL Experience and great parties.

“The only downfall of the Super Bowl being in my back yard is the traffic.  Bay Area traffic is already a concern on any given day so bringing a prestigious event here, everyone will have to be prepared for the delays and diversions that will come along with it.”

Bay Area native and Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Marc J. Spears  gave a different perspective on the big game hitting the Bay. 

"It is exciting news for the Bay Area to get the Super Bowl after such a long layoff. I remember it being at Stanford Stadium when I was a kid when San Francisco and Miami faced one another. It will be at much grander scale now as the San Jose-area, most notably San Francisco and Oakland will take part in hosting it and all the fans and participants. It will also give Santa Clara a chance to show off its new stadium. Overall, it will be a great moment for the Bay Area."

Spears isn't as concerned with traffic. 

"I don't think traffic will be an issue since it's such a great location with so many ways to get there. My worry is whether San Jose will have enough hotels to meet the demand, however, San Francisco and Oakland have enough extra to help out. Visitors might be a little irritated by the stadium being 40 minutes from San Francisco and San Jose-area residents might be irritated by San Francisco getting most of the shine; overall it should be looked as a Bay Area event, not a San Francisco or South Bay Area deal."

Landing the Super Bowl in a stadium that is not yet completed is, overall, a big win for the Bay Area and the 49ers as a whole. The game and events surrounding it are expected to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to the Silicon Valley and sports fans all over the Bay are enthusiastic about having the biggest game of the NFL played in their backyard. 

What would make it even more golden would be both Bay Area football teams kicking off the historical year by playing in the big game. 

Photo by Maritza Maldonado