If you thought the Super Bowl was just about the three hours that the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will do battle, think again.
What started off as a one-off event that turned into a day is now an entire week, and it kicked off Monday.
Peter O’Reilly. NFL executive vice president of club business, international and league events, says the league is using this week to show off New Orleans, and that includes getting the local business community involved through its NFL Source program.
“Bringing local diverse small businesses into the Super Bowl ecosystem in really powerful ways, more than 225 local businesses,” O’Reilly said at a Super Bowl Week welcoming event.
O’Reilly says the NFL wants to leave a lasting impact on the city years after the final whistle in Sunday’s game.
“There are 40-plus community impact events this week in New Orleans focused on youth, focused on volunteerism, focused on sustainability,” O’Reilly said.
Radio stations across the country, including LRN New Orleans affiliate WWL, set up shop in the Media Center at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for their coverage of Super Bowl Week.
: Andrew Greenstein
O’Reilly says for the first time ever, the NFL went to the outside to design the Super Bowl logo, and it commissioned a local artist to do so.
“That was designed by Queen Tahj, bead by bead, to represent this city — the first time that someone other than an NFL creative director designed our Super Bowl logo,”: said O’Reilly. “And it’s my favorite ever.”
“Queen Tahj” is 26-year-old Tahj Williams; and in addition to being an artist, she works as a cybersecurity analyst for Microsoft.
O’Reilly says one goal of the week-long festivities is to make the Super Bowl accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford to fork over thousands of dollars to watch a football game.
That starts Monday night at the Superdome with Super Bowl Opening Night.
“We hope to have 30,000 fans in there at this event that’s very accessible, a $20 ticket to set the tone for the week,” O’Reilly said. “The teams will be there. The media will be there. (It’s) a really engaging event.”
On Wednesday, the NFL Experience opens at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
“A chance for fans to come together — a $20 ticket, kids, 12 and under free, to experience the Super Bowl, even if you’re not able to be in the (Super)dome and Sunday,” said O’Reilly.
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