Super Bowl 50 is going to turn this town upside down come next February, and even though the majority of 70,000 tickets to the game itself will be going to out-of-towners, there is going to be a huge "fan village" set up at the foot of Market Street and in Justin Herman Plaza that everyone can enjoy. The street closures and fan village will effectively shut down that section of the city for 8 days, from January 30 to Game Day on February 7, 2016, and it will include a basecamp set up for CBS Sports, as well as food and drink vendors still to be determined. But what we know won't be there: homeless people. At least that's what Mayor Ed Lee says.
Despite Justin Herman Plaza and the immediate area being a frequent spot for homeless camps, or at least resting spots, the mayor told Phil Matier on KCBS radio this week, "there won’t be any room" for the homeless to hang out once the fan village is set up. "To be quite candid with you," he said, "there won’t be any room for anybody."
As you can see in the rendering above of "Super Bowl City," several blocks of Market Street will be shut down to allow for people moving around, and admission will be free. As the Chron reports, "Notable buildings in the area, including the Embarcadero Center and the Ferry Building, will either be wrapped with Super Bowl logos or have logos projected onto them." The Ferry Building clock tower will, reportedly, have the Super Bowl 50 logo projected onto it.
Vendors will include many Bay Area restaurants, offering samples of their food, and as previously announced, the Bay Lights will be back on to serve as a sparkly backdrop.
There are also plans for an NFL Experience interactive "theme park" thing at Moscone Center, which will have paid admission.
And, because Super Bowl City will be set up eight days ahead of the actual Super Bowl, there's a chance you or I could perhaps wander through it without having to fight hordes of football tourists, who will mostly be arriving closer to Super Bowl Sunday.
KTVU has video from the unveiling event this week, which you can watch below.
