SPORTBUSINESS: Legends extends record hospitality run at Super Bowl LVI

The National Football League’s Super Bowl LVI followed up a strong domestic media showing with record-setting hospitality totals.

Legends, the league’s official retail merchandise concessionaire for Super Bowl LVI, said that it generated per capita spending of $167.37 (€147.25) across concessions, premium dining, and merchandise sales, marking the highest such figure for a full-capacity Super Bowl. 

Last year’s Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Florida, generated a comparable spending average of $212, marking an overall event record. But that game was limited to about 25,000 attendees, less than half the capacity of Raymond James Stadium, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The total for Super Bowl LVI, a comeback victory for the Los Angeles Rams, beat by 14 per cent the prior full-capacity mark of Super Bowl 50 six years ago in San Francisco, California.

Legends is the concessionaire at SoFi Stadium, home of the Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, and the company in 2020 completed a deal with the NFL to handle event merchandise for the league’s marquee events including the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, and Draft.

Overall, Legends generated more than $18m in revenue for nine days of activities this month that included the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada, the run-up to Super Bowl LVI, and gameday itself on February 13. In addition to selling merchandise on site at SoFi Stadium and Allegiant Stadium, Legends also managed the official merchandise shop at the Super Bowl Experience fan attraction in downtown Los Angeles, and pop-up and hotel locations around the city.

“Our team was incredibly proud to be a part of Super Bowl LVI, turning up the spotlight on Los Angeles and celebrating the diverse culture of the area through our food and beverage program at SoFi Stadium and unique merchandise partnerships with local artists,” said Dan Smith, Legends Hospitality president.

“The buzz around the game and the city was incredible, with the home team playing and back to a full-capacity Super bowl. Our team worked around the clock to ensure an expedient, first-class experience for fans inside the stadium and at the retail locations throughout the city,” Smith said.

In addition to an early-arriving crowd for the game, the totals were also boosted by more than 900 concession points of sale at SoFi Stadium between fixed and handheld locations, with temporary locations such as portable trailers installed to help manage the heightened demand.