Construction of the 49ers' $1.2 billion stadium is ramping up, from 600 workers at the beginning of the year to 1,000 on-site now. This facility, scheduled to open next year, will have features no other stadium has including solar panels, high-tech communications, a rooftop deck, and LEED-certified environmental honors.
The stadium is a great selling point as Mayors Ed Lee, Chuck Reed, and Jamie Matthews unite to entice the NFL owners to award the Bay Area Super Bowl 50 in 2016. But what else is part of the bid? "I'm going to kind of keep a little hush-hush as instructed, but as you know, because we are the innovation capitol of the world, you know we're going to have great surprises to make sure that we gain the visibility we need," Lee said.
A bid committee of civic leaders is working to complete a massive book required by league owners. It covers the basics like number of hotel rooms, restaurants, transportation options, and security, but there also has to be a wow factor. San Francisco 49er owner Jed York suggests Northern California has unique qualities that will help bring the 'Bowl to the Bay. "You're talking about sustainability. You're talking about technology. You're talking about being at the cutting edge," he said.
"We're going to highlight the great companies from Facebook to Apple, to Google, to eBay, and we're going to highlight our great legacy companies, Levis, and Gap, Wells Fargo," bid committee Chairman Daniel Lurie. The regional effort will also showcase places like Napa Valley, Carmel, and Monterey. Still, the centerpiece may be the state-of-the-art facility which the league itself invested millions in.
The owners will listen to a 15-minute in-person presentation in May before deciding between Santa Clara and Miami. "We think that we can come up with a package that is so enticing to the NFL owners that they'll demand to have Super Bowl 50 right here," bid committee member Jim Wonderman said.
The bid is still being worked on. The presentation to the 32 NFL owners will happen on May 21 and they will make a decision immediately.
