With less than six months left before Silicon Valley hosts the first of three major sporting events in 2026, San Jose officials are optimistic about the city’s progress in creating activities surrounding the marquee games and ensuring that the millions of locals and hundreds of thousands of tourists coming to the region enjoy a memorable experience.
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Tapping into the block party and concert-like atmosphere San Jose tested out this year — thousands of residents flocked downtown to see acts like Steve Aoki and Fisher — the city and its partners expect to host more than 100 watch parties across all 10 of its districts for the Super Bowl, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and FIFA World Cup, 13 concerts with national headliners and 13 “lit up nights” with drone shows.
“What I find most exciting about these plans is that they create opportunities for everyone in our city to participate,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said. “The truth is these global sporting events are incredible, but most of our residents won’t get the opportunity to go either because they can’t afford a ticket, or just logistically it won’t be possible, and so our opportunity is to create a robust fan experience, from local legends going into classrooms to low-cost public concerts downtown that really help everybody take pride in our city and celebrate this unique moment on the world stage.”
While the Super Bowl and World Cup have come to Santa Clara County before, 2026 marks the first time any metro area will serve as a host site for both in the same calendar year, offering an economic boon that could infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy.
City officials anticipate that Super LX, scheduled for February 8, 2026, will generate approximately $500 million in economic impact, attracting more than 90,000 visitors from outside the area. Levi’s Stadium will also host six World Cup matches between June 13 and July 1, adding another $555 million in economic activity and potentially drawing around 260,000 more visitors.
However, in 2016 when Levi’s Stadium previously hosted the Super Bowl, city officials were left disappointed as the lion’s share of economic activity occurred in San Francisco despite media day and the big game taking place in Santa Clara County. Although San Jose and its better-known neighbor to the north are still jockeying for attention, this time around, city officials have placed a greater emphasis on planning, including hiring Tommy O’Hare, a former Olympian, as the temporary sports and special events director.
“It’s worth remembering the average visitor will spend about five to 10% of their time here at the game,” Mahan said. “The rest of it is up for grabs and we want them to spend that time here in San Jose and experience what we have to offer.”
Along with experimenting with different events, San Jose has also created a “Fly, Stay and Play” campaign to encourage more visitors to use Mineta International Airport and launched a microsite on Thursday, which helps residents and tourists plan their itineraries and discover the different happenings around the city.
It has also made a concerted effort to create a more cohesive downtown by improving wayfinding and through its “stitching districts” initiative, which aims to create more walkable and lively streets.
Recently, the city and the San Jose Downtown Association completed the Santa Clara corridor beautification project, which cleaned up the stretch of road spanning from City Hall to San Pedro Square, adding new signage, public art, and fresh coats of paint to some buildings.
The next phase of the initiative is to enhance the area around the SAP Center and Little Italy, including the addition of more murals and regular cleanups that extend down to Arena Green.
“We want to extend people’s stay and help them to understand how walkable and vibrant our downtown is,” Mahan said. “If you’re coming down for the game, you should go to Urban Putt or go check out Little Italy and feel safe walking around.”
However, while downtown will see its fair share of events, San Jose Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch noted that there are numerous opportunities for events to be held throughout the city.
“We have been meeting with a number of groups throughout the city of San Jose, community strong strategies and director alliances, to bring 12 neighborhood business directors across the city into the block party themes, the soccer clinics, concerts, promotion, local food vendors, community booths and family activities,” Poch said.
Although the city stands to gain financially if the events are successful, public officials and business leaders view 2026 as a stepping stone for the future, igniting residents’ and tourists’ interest in San Jose.
“It’s about activating our city, uplifting our neighborhoods and strengthening our economy,” San Jose Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leah Toeniskoetter said. “We already see this (with) 58,000 hotel rooms secured for FIFA, early corporate commitments, new policies like the entertainment zones and super graphics that you pass.”
While California, and more specifically the Bay Area, has garnered a lot of negative coverage, Mahan added that the events also presented the opportunity to reset the narrative.
“If you didn’t live here, you would think that the bay was a bit of a dumpster fire of crime, trash, homelessness, etc.,” Mahan said. “We know we live in the best place in the world. We have our challenges, but we’re making steady progress towards solving them and I think what we want to show off are the things that make us the best place to live in the world: our ingenuity and innovation, our great weather, our diversity, our food and culture — all the many things that make San Jose, specifically in the bay and more broadly, such a special place.”