By Frank Pingue
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Forget flashy cars and mansion photos – today's ultimate flex is posting pictures from the Super Bowl field while making snow angels in celebratory confetti and people are paying big bucks for the privilege.
Sports tourism has become the fastest-growing segment of the global tourism industry as travelers increasingly seek Instagram-worthy experiences over material possessions.
Premium Super Bowl ticket packages offer everything from meet-and-greets with
NFL legends to post-game field access.
"If you've never been on the (Super Bowl) field after the confetti's flown and done a snow angel you have not experienced sports," Paul Caine, president of premium hospitality company On Location, told Reuters.
"And that's where the highest level of experiences and hospitality sits."
PERKS APLENTY
This year's Super Bowl, featuring the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, will be played on Sunday in Santa Clara, California.
On Location's Super Bowl packages, all of which include hospitality and experiences, started at $6,500 per person.
Top-tier packages have sold out and pricing was not disclosed. Among the packages currently available, the highest price is $34,500 per person.
Among the other perks of the various packages is access to live musical performances with artists like Sting and The Killers, chef-curated cuisine, private wine tastings at Napa Valley and golf at Pebble Beach.
CORPORATE INTEREST
According to the World Economic Forum's Sports for People and Planet Insight Report published last month, sports tourism accounted for 10% of global travel expenditure in 2025, with revenues growing at a compound annual rate of 28% since 2020 – outpacing the 22% growth across all tourism.
Confirmed360, a premium entertainment concierge service, said the Bay Area is considered a more sophisticated Super Bowl market and that the high end of their fully customized packages could top $2 million.
Confirmed360 said they are seeing plenty of corporate interest from large tech clients and venture capital firms looking to host their clients and investors.
"Everybody is trying to impress somebody or keep up with that other company," Confirmed360's Managing Director Simon David said.
'EXPERIENCE ECONOMY'
On Location, the NFL's official hospitality provider, is calling this year -- which includes this week's Super Bowl in Santa Clara, the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and the World Cup -- the biggest in sports hospitality history.
The company has already seen a 17% year-on-year increase in Super Bowl hospitality packages sold and 19% revenue growth compared to last year's NFL championship game in New Orleans.
"Tourism is interesting post-COVID. People want to go experience things and the experience economy is a big driver of that," said Caine. "But sports tourism specifically is one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism."
The shift reflects changing priorities, with immersive experiences in and around sporting events valued more than simply owning a ticket.
"Going to a game, getting a ticket, that's not tourism ... That is what a very transactional customer will do," said Caine.
For those willing to pay premium prices, he insisted the value proposition holds up. "I've never had anybody complain that the value wasn't connected to what they paid for," he said.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in San Francisco; Editing by Ken Ferris)
