Are You Ready for Some Football? Super Bowl XLV is Heading to North Texas

Less than 620 days to Super Bowl XLV! And things are happening…in a big way.

On May 28, the Leadership Dallas Alumni hosted an event with Bill Lively, CEO & President of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee to gain an overview of what this economic touchdown will mean for North Texas.

Lively discussed the impact of Super Bowl XLV for the region, and how it will be “ the biggest event in the history of North Texas since the construction of the DFW Airport about 35 years ago.”

In many ways, it seems the timing of Super Bowl XLV couldn’t be better. It will provide a huge direct economic benefit to the region. A study by Arizona State University found the 2008 Super Bowl in Glendale, AZ., had a record impact of more than $500 million.

But that’s not the only benefit—and maybe not even the most significant.

Mayor Leppert, while acknowledging the $500 million “is huge,” believes the greater impact is global exposure. “What it does is let us have the world shine a light on us and see all the great things that are happening. That’s got marketing and advertising value,” he said.

Phillip Jones, president and CEO of the Dallas Convention and Visitors bureau concurs. He said Super Bowl XLV will be used to woo the planners of the nation’s biggest conferences and meetings for future engagements in Dallas.

Another key element in the planning is regionalism. The plain fact is that no single city in North Texas (or probably anywhere else, for that matter) is capable of pulling off such an event. The Super Bowl presents an opportunity for taking regional collaboration to a whole new level. Every city in the region stands to benefit in some way from the Super Bowl and every city has the opportunity to be involved.

And, by the way, the Super Bowl is not just the game --as though that wouldn’t be enough! There are a whole series of events and activities taking place in the weeks and days leading up to the game. Visit www.northtexassuperbowl.com for more information on the upcoming events and opportunities. Click here to receive updates on the North Texas Super Bowl XLV, sign-up for the newsletter

Article written by Charles Elk with Oncor and Leadership Dallas Alumni Advisory Council member.