Hype Masters Las Vegas and NFL Kick Off Super Bowl 58 With Mr. Las Vegas, Two Free Super Bowl Tickets For College Student, Showgirls
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
Supreme masters of hype, Las Vegas and the National Football League look like fine partners.
Las Vegas’ tourism, county and Super Bowl host committee officials met up with a NFL EVP Peter O’Reilly Monday morning to welcome the world to Sin City and Super Bowl 58.
It’s the first time at hosting the Super Bowl for Las Vegas, which rolled out none other than Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton, who then gave two free Super Bowl tickets to a startled Nevada State College student.
That was the show-stopper to a 30-minute welcome presser.
Gov. Joe Lombardo made a cameo, too. His voice reminded me of comic Ray Romano — and the governor dropped in a few jokes and quips for the media presser.
The NFL also featured a stadium preview. Allegiant Stadium, which was conceived in a state law in 2016, is hosting the NFL’s premier event a mere eight years later.
The NFL is not only masterful at creating hype but also generating revenues.
There’s a crowd of more than 20,000 expected to attend tonight’s “Opening Night,” which is a glorified media day event that the NFL has amplified into an event that it charges $30 a person to attend.
Then there’s the “Super Bowl Experience” at Mandalay Bay, which is a glorified fanfest event that the NFL uses to charge $50 a person for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday, the Super Bowl Experience’s first day, it’s $25 a person and kids under 12 are free for the week.
There’s much controversy about sports events’ economic impact numbers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is having a presser with the Las Vegas tourism folks to discuss the spending related to the Super Bowl.
Speaking of spending, here’s the latest on ticket prices for Super Bowl 58, according to TicketIQ.
- The average ticket price for the game on the secondary market is $9,024, down 16% since the conference championship games.
- The least expensive ticket is $7,632, down 14% since the conference championship games but up 8% over the last 48 hours, and it remains the most expensive get-in price we’ve ever tracked
- The get-in price is the most expensive we’ve ever tracked six days before the game.
- The least expensive lower-level ticket is $8,944, down 20% since the conference championship games.
- There are now 2,620 tickets available on the secondary market, up 14% since the conference championship games.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met the media at 3 PM, with Goodell acknowledging Taylor Swift has helped create a buzz and another group of young fans for the NFL. Swift will take a private jet from Japan and her concert to Las Vegas to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Goodell denied the NFL is using Swift to drive interest and get the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.
“I don’t think I’m that good a scripter. There’s no way I could script that one. Or anyone in our office,” Goodell said.
Goodell said the challenges are enormous to put on a Super Bowl in Las Vegas. He mentioned Las Vegas used to be a gambling town, but now it’s a sports and entertainment town.
In response to a question about forcing fans to pay a streaming fee to watch a playoff game between the Chiefs and Dolphins, Goodell said consumers are moving away from TV packages and the NFL needs to go the streaming route because that’s the fans are.
“It’s part of the future,” Goodell said, noting he does not envision a paid streaming service for the Super Bowl while he’s around.
