MIAMI, FL — The clanging, whirring and screeching sounds of power tools echo throughout Hard Rock Stadium as a worker carefully steps past the NFL 100 logo painted along the 50-yard line. There is little more than a week to go now before the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49rs in Super Bowl LIV and the stadium is springing to life ahead of football’s biggest game.
By Super Bowl Sunday, the sounds of tools will be replaced by the deafening roar of more than 60,000 well-heeled fans and the magic that is unlike any other sporting event, capping off years of planning ahead of Miami’s record-setting 11th Super Bowl.
“It’s starting to look like Super Bowl around here,” observed Eric Finkelstein, the NFL’s senior director of event planning as he greeted reporters along the field. “It’s always great to see the team marks start to be painted onto the field which is coming very soon. The fact that we have the Super Bowl logos out there already — our hundredth season logo on the 50-yard line, and all the decor around the building and throughout the town — we’re very excited for Super Bowl 54 to get here.”
As is customary for football’s biggest game of the year, the NFL has also installed brand new sod grown especially for Super Bowl LIV as part of the transformation of Hard Rock Stadium from the every-day home of the Miami Dolphins to the ultimate venue where destiny and determination collide to decide the team that will hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 2.
“Every year we try to outdo the last one,” Finkelstein said. “One really unique thing that’s special to this year, that is definitely different from any other, is that this is our 100th season so there’s going to be very special unique elements that are going to happen as part of this game that we’ve never done.”
If one Super Bowl can stand out among the dazzling spectacles of years past, this may be that year, he said.
“There’s going to be some really special moments that are going to happen as part of Super Bowl Sunday this year — that if it can top even a Super Bowl — this is going to be really special,” Finkelstein said.
With signs of the Super Bowl all around Miami, the average Miamian won’t be able to afford the estimated $4,127 for the cheapest seat in Hard Rock Stadium. That’s the cheapest seat as of Wednesday. Ticket prices are likely to keep going up.
NFL Director of Events Nicki Ewell recognizes this too and said most fans can still attend one of several league-hosted events around the Miami area.
Kids 12 and under can visit the Super Bowl Experience presented by Lowe’s between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 at the Miami Beach Convention Center free of charge.
“It’s the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the Super Bowl rings, plenty of NFL players signing autographs and making appearances,” Ewell said. “We have kicking games, receiving games. Of course NFL Shop will be there. If you are not a football fan, and you want to just stop by, we think we can convert you into one because there’s a lot of activities.” Admission prices for adults range from $20 this weekend up to $40 closer to the date of the Super Bowl.
Another fan event is called Super Bowl Opening Night presented by Bolt24. Priced at $25, this event will give fans the only opportunity to see both teams in one place ahead of the Super Bowl. This event will take place across town at Marlins Park on Jan. 27.
There’s a free fan experience called Super Bowl LIVE presented by Verizon at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.
This event will showcase Miami’s vibrant culture and music scene with evening concerts at the outdoor amphitheater, a culinary stage, live water shows, evening parades and fireworks.
Ewell said her team started working on the side events 18 months ago. “We run simultaneously,” she said of the planning. “We’re working on Tampa right now, which is a year from now, and actually Los Angeles too, which is two years from now. We work on multiple (Super Bowl events) simultaneously because it’s so much work.”
Finkelstein said an army of 6,000 workers has descended on Hard Rock Stadium since Jan. 2 and more will leave their mark on the venue by game day.
“It takes that long to get everything ready and prepared and in place to support and to build all of the elements that come with the Super Bowl,” he said. “We have 4.9 miles of fence around this site. That takes some time to get together.”
Indeed, there is also a need for expanded media spaces, technology enhancements and heightened security arrangements befitting a sporting event that reaches everywhere in the world.
“This will be my 21st,” Finkelstein said of the number of Super Bowls under his belt. “Every year the Super Bowl is unique. It’s the Super Bowl. You have different … challenges.”
These have differed from city to city as the game has moved around in recent years.
“What we had to coordinate in Minnesota is going to be obviously a lot different than what you are going to be coordinating in Miami,” he explained. “With that said, there’s stuff that happens here that’s going to be different than what would happen in other places.”
This year, the Pepsi Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show will feature Jennifer Lopez and Shakira as the first Latina women to host the big party.
“They are going to put on quite an amazing show that you are not going to want to miss for halftime,” Finkelstein predicted. “They are already in town rehearsing, and doing all the things they need to.”
While Miami has hosted the Super Bowl more than any other city, the entire stadium has undergone $500 million in upgrades since the last time the game was played here a decade ago when the New Orleans Saints bested the Indianapolis Colts in 2010.
Even the grounds have changed outside the stadium with the addition of the Miami Open tennis tournament. Recent enhancements include a 90 feet wide by 40 feet high screen outside the stadium, a park-like walking area and a new gondola ride that will carry visitors from the parking lot closer to the stadium. It is likely to see its first use on Super Bowl Sunday.
Asked by Patch what keeps him up at night as the days tick down to game day, Finkelstein said there is no shortage of things to keep him from a restful sleep.
“That’s assuming I’m sleeping,” he said with a smile. “There’s a lot. The list just keeps growing by day. If you really stop to think about it, I literally would not sleep. That’s how much has to get done. But honestly, we feel as you look at it, and take a step back, where we are, is where we need to be. As long as we continue on this pace, I will sleep well the night of Feb. 2.”
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