On February 12th, the Super Bowl LVII will take place in Glendale, Arizona. Each year, fans not only from the US but from all over the world go to great lengths to attend the Super Bowl. These days, stadiums can host 70,000 people or more; the crowds that are drawn to a game of that magnitude demand a lot of logistics and planning. Lodging is one of those aspects.
The NFL has a set of very specific guidelines for cities wanting to host the Super Bowl. In 2014, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune obtained a copy of the NFL’s “Host City Bid Specifications and Requirements.” The document, which at the time was 153 pages long, included among other things the rules regarding accommodation.
According to the document, there must be a minimum number of hotel rooms within a 60-minute driving radius of the stadium. It must be 35% of the listed capacity. Moreover, the selected team hotels must be able to provide the NFL Network for a year before the actual Super Bowl game.
Given the sheer number of people attending such an event, the number of hotel rooms available for that weekend sells out very quickly. Some readers might be wondering what the prices might be at this point.
Rates often change by the day but according to local media in Arizona, the Motel 6 on 51st Avenue, just north of Interstate 10, is $850 per night. A room at the Best Western Hotel off Interstate 17 near Castles and Coasters will run you nearly $1,150 per night.
A three-night stay over Super Bowl weekend at a Holiday Inn Express would require you to shell out more than $5,640 for the weekend for an average of $1,600 (1,470 euros) per night.
Ticketmaster has received some criticism on Capitol Hill for its use of ticketing. Dynamic pricing attempts to find the optimal price to meet demand using algorithms and experts.
What many hotels have is a location near the Super Bowl or Super Bowl events. To find a better deal, fans would have to drive. A Holiday Inn south of the 202 has rooms for less than $400 a night. Fans would have to drive for more than 40 minutes to the stadium.
