London should host a future NFL Super Bowl in a bid to supercharge the capital’s economic growth, politicians and hospitality groups have urged.
Ahead of Sunday’s showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, the climax to the NFL season, the potential future impact on the capital’s economy is being talked up once again.
With the match set to be watched by around 200m people worldwide, advocates have highlighted London as a “hugely attractive destination” for a “memorable game day”.
It comes after Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour was calculate to boost the capital’s economy by £300m – and the UK’s GDP as a whole by a staggering £1bn.
Prior to his re-election, London mayor Sadiq Khan pledged to bring Wrestlemania and NBA basketball to London and cited his “longer-term ambition” to host a potential future Super Bowl in the capital.
It would be the first event outside of the USA, and part of Khan’s bid to “fully cement London’s reputation as the undisputed sports capital of the world”.
Speaking in 2024, the mayor stressed: “The Super Bowl is really important for us. We have a number of American football games and I want it to come here because we want American sports fans in Europe to come to London to watch them, not just go to America.”
International franchise
The National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the question on Monday in the annual pre-Super Bowl news conference at the New Orleans Superdome.
On the potential for overseas expansion of the game, which the NFL reckons offers a $500m boost to cities who host the major event, he said: “I do think there’s potential someday we’re going to have an international franchise.
“And if we do, I think it would not surprise me at all if a Super Bowl follows and is played there.”
Spurs stadium owner Daniel Levy has bid for his London venue to host the 2026 event – and some experts are convinced there will be an NFL established in London this decade.
TV producer Dennis Deninger, who wrote The Football Game That Changed America, told the Mail: “Within five years after that, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host the Super Bowl.’
Emma Best, City Hall Conservatives economy spokesperson, said: “If a decision is made to host the Super Bowl abroad there is really no better venue than London to do justice to the spectacle of this momentous occasion.
“With fantastic accessibility for global visitors, a pick of iconic stadiums and a huge NFL fan base in the city, London would certainly provide a magical and memorable game day.”
Super Bowl hospitality
While Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality chief executive, told City AM: “American sports that attract big international audiences, such as the NFL, have significantly grown in popularity here in the UK over the last 20 years.
“The regular London games mean hospitality venues always see a boost in sales on those days, especially for those venues that host designated viewing parties.
“London is a hugely attractive destination for international sport of all kinds, and should the city ever play host to the Superbowl then hospitality venues will be on hand to provide as memorable an experience to fans as possible, as well as servicing the wider economy.”
Former Tory mayoral candidate adviser Max Anderson said: “The government should use the UK’s love for American football as an opportunity to make the ties between our two countries even closer.
“The sport also has a huge impact on London’s economy. Since 2007, the capital’s NFL games have pumped more than £1.6bn into the economy.
“We have a ready-made NFL stadium in Tottenham and the NFL’s President is itching to make this happen – we just need Khan to actually deliver for London.”