Antonio Reyes, a pastor at Project Church in Sacramento, talks on Feb. 11, 2026, about his experience officiating the wedding during Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show at the Super Bowl. By HECTOR AMEZCUA
Organizers who put on the Super Bowl in the Bay Area are trumpeting economic impact numbers they say will bode well for the World Cup, which will include six games this summer at the San Francisco 49ers’ home venue in Santa Clara.
“When you look at the economic impact and all of the legacy that this event creates, it’s something that makes us proud,” 49ers owner Jed York said at a Bay Area Host Committee event in San Francisco last week.
The 49ers and the host committee, in a joint statement Monday following the completion of Super Bowl week, noted that the game and surrounding festivities benefitted the region by bringing approximately $500 million of economic activity, 5,000 created jobs and 100,000 booked hotel rooms.
They are hoping to carry that momentum into the World Cup this summer, where Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara will host six World Cup games — five in the group stage and one in the knockout round of 32.
“With it will come new opportunities to come together, celebrate, and build on what we’ve started,” they said in the statement. “There is more ahead — more moments, more impact, and more chances to show the world what makes this place so special.”
Bad Bunny performs during the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Hector Amezcua
The Super Bowl Experience, the media center serving as the hub for the vast majority of related corporate events, took place in San Francisco, while the game was held some 40 miles south at Levi’s Stadium.
The NFL projected roughly 100,000 people attended the Super Bowl experience at San Francisco’s Moscone Center convention hall, which was also the site of “Radio Row.” The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, meanwhile, were based in the South Bay — in San Jose and Santa Clara, respectively.
A B-1 Lancer leads a military flyover before the start of Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com
Will the Super Bowl come back to the Bay Area?
Super Bowl LX was the second Super Bowl held at Levi’s Stadium since opening in 2014. The 49ers made $200 million in improvements last offseason to help accommodate the Super Bowl and upcoming World Cup games.
And while it’s not the most popular stadium among fans for its distance from San Francisco and purported lack of character, it served its purpose from the league’s perspective as the game went off without a hitch.
Perhaps more importantly, the Bay Area is teeming with corporate money from some of the biggest companies in the world, including Apple, which helps produce and is the name sponsor of the halftime show; and Google, which owns YouTube and YouTubeTV which have exclusive broadcast rights to NFL Sunday Ticket that reportedly pays the league $2 billion annually.
“To look at the national audience and global audience, this is an opportunity for this community to shine,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at his annual Super Bowl press conference. “And I’m confident they will. And I think it will be great for this community. The economic impact is there, but I think the bigger impact is on showing off this community in a positive way.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook walks onto the field before the start of Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Hector Amezcua
What from the Super Bowl will apply to World Cup?
While the NFL and the host committee prominently featured San Francisco throughout Super Bowl week, the South Bay was key for logistics.
Both the Seahawks and Patriots stayed there and practiced at San Jose State and Stanford, respectively. Transportation in San Francisco for teams would have been logistically difficult while the city doesn’t have adequate practice facilities for teams.
A similar dynamic could be at play for the World Cup. San Francisco will likely be sold as a top draw for soccer, or football, fans coming to the region, while teams likely stay in the South Bay for logistics and access to practice facilities.
But at least three of the teams visiting Santa Clara, all of whom play there just once in the group stage, have elected to set up their base camps farther south in California: Austria and Qatar in Santa Barbara, and Switzerland in San Diego.
Paraguay and Jordan are the only two teams guaranteed to play multiple games at Levi’s Stadium. Neither had publicly revealed their plans for training camp as of Thursday afternoon.
FIFA released a brochure of suggested training camps, which includes two Bay Area setups. One is in the East Bay, staying at Claremont Resort & Club in Berkeley and practicing at the Oakland Roots/Soul SC training facility in Alameda. The other is in the South Bay, lodging at Hilton’s Signia hotel in San Jose and practicing at San Jose State’s Spartan Soccer Complex just south of the university campus.
Teams do not have to choose their training camp from the FIFA brochure’s options. Switzerland did not, choosing instead to stay at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, a five-star hotel in Santa Barbara.
World Cup games at Levi’s Stadium
All times Pacific.
Group B
June 13: Qatar vs. Switzerland, noon
Group D
June 18: Paraguay vs. playoff qualifier (Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo), 9 p.m.
June 25: Australia vs. Paraguay, 7 p.m.
Group J
June 15: Austria vs. Jordan, 9 p.m.
June 22: Jordan vs. Algeria, 8 p.m.
Knockout round
July 1: Group D winner vs. Group B/E/F/I/J third place, 5 p.m. in Santa Clara*
*Team USA is widely considered the favorite to come out of Group D and would play at Levi’s Stadium should they win the group over Paraguay, Australia and a playoff qualifier between Turkey, Slovakia, Romania and Kosovo.
The Bee’s Michael McGough contributed to this story.