There is perhaps no greater honor for any city in the United States than to host the Super Bowl. Dallas will be doing just that and more in the upcoming year, hosting both this year’s NBA All-Star game, Feb. 14, and the 2011 Super Bowl. The preparation that goes in to such large-scale events is a daunting task that questions whether or not the attention given to Dallas is worth the preparations.
W Dallas-Victory Hotel director of welcome office, Jeff Ossenkop, said he has already seen the All-Star game bring a lot of attention to the Dallas area. One day turns into an almost weeklong celebration and one game turns into multiple events. Not only does the game itself draw fans, athletes and celebrities, but NBA related events, such as the Jordan Brand 25th Anniversary in downtown, do as well.
According to the Dallas Morning News, host committee chairman Bill Lively said revenue from the Super Bowl will bring the Dallas area hundreds of millions of dollars. The North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee has raised and received several million dollars for charities involving education, homelessness, children, minorities, women and the needy, he said. “Once a Super Bowl hits your city it’s like an explosion,” Mario Patterson, general manager of Ten Sports Grill, said. “It’s nice to get such a successful week in to pick up for the season or even year.”
Both events have already given locals job opportunities, and have undoubtedly made people who have never been to the area think to themselves that maybe they to need to experience the town that the sports world thinks so highly of.
Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, said in a press conference that the NBA All-Star Weekend “literally could be the largest party weekend in the history of the United States.” Sites There is perhaps no greater honor for any city in the United States than to host the Super Bowl. Dallas will be doing just that and more in the upcoming year, hosting both this year’s NBA All-Star game, Feb. 14, and the 2011 Super Bowl. The preparation that goes in to such large-scale events is a daunting task that questions whether or not the attention given to Dallas is worth the preparations.
W Dallas-Victory Hotel director of welcome office, Jeff Ossenkop, said he has already seen the All-Star game bring a lot of attention to the Dallas area. One day turns into an almost weeklong celebration and one game turns into multiple events. Not only does the game itself draw fans, athletes and celebrities, but NBA related events, such as the Jordan Brand 25th Anniversary in downtown, do as well.
According to the Dallas Morning News, host committee chairman Bill Lively said revenue from the Super Bowl will bring the Dallas area hundreds of millions of dollars. The North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee has raised and received several million dollars for charities involving education, homelessness, children, minorities, women and the needy, he said. “Once a Super Bowl hits your city it’s like an explosion,” Mario Patterson, general manager of Ten Sports Grill, said. “It’s nice to get such a successful week in to pick up for the season or even year.”
Both events have already given locals job opportunities, and have undoubtedly made people who have never been to the area think to themselves that maybe they to need to experience the town that the sports world thinks so highly of.
Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, said in a press conference that the NBA All-Star Weekend “literally could be the largest party weekend in the history of the United States.” Sites for national sports events are chosen years in advance so that cities can be prepared for the single biggest day in sports.
Hotels in downtown Dallas, such as W Dallas-Victory Hotel, are fully booked from the Wednesday before the All-Star Game until the Monday after. Strategic planning for crowd control along with extra staffing and security, are some of the ways the hotels are preparing for the influx of people.
Patterson says he has noticed the city making improvements to landscaping, street advertising and billboards. Some people who live and work downtown believe the lack of public transportation, taxis, parking and security will be issues. Some of the top players will be hosting various parties and events downtown on Friday and Saturday before the All-Star Game, Ossenkop said. He foresees a parking problem during special events such as these.
Downtown Dallas residents have received e-mails advising them to update their driver’s license to their current addresses to prove that they live nearby and are not simply parking wherever they can find a spot.
Downtown resident Rachel Orr said, “Parking can be a problem downtown when there is a Stars or Mavericks game. I’m a little concerned about how bad it will be during the times of the All-Star game and Super Bowl when so many people will be partying or staying in hotels down here.”
Orr said that by the time she received the e-mail advising her to update her driver’s license it was already too late to replace her California driver’s license.
Construction on highways near the Cowboys Stadium has been ongoing and poses a threat of extreme traffic. Patterson said one negative of hosting the two events will be that the city may overspend money on improvements and then not have sufficient funds to make any necessary renovations that may need to take place after the games are over.
Only time will tell if Dallas can handle hosting events such as the NBA All-Star game and the Super Bowl. The Dallas area is preparing in every way it knows possible for the amount of people and attention that will be brought to the cities nearby. When the games are over and the fans have gone, it will be the residents and businesses of the Dallas area that measure the success of hosting these games. For now, all that can be done is to allow the city to prepare and bask in the attention that comes with being chosen.
