LIKE SAND THROUGH THE HOURGLASS

The countdown clock to XLV is now under 600 days as the North Texas Host Committee looks to its counterparts in South Florida to gauge progress

By Steve Pate

June 18, 2009

The year 2011 may seem off in the hazy distance to some. But Super Bowl XLV is on a fast course, as odd as it sounds, rolling toward North Texas like a huge, beautiful storm.

Tara Green and Kit Sawers are just back from a scouting expedition in South Florida that, above and beyond all else, reminded them of just how quickly this North Texas Super Bowl is approaching.

The two executives of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee attended the NFL’s June Production Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, the focal point of the 2009 season’s Super Bowl. A final production meeting for Super Bowl XLIV occurs in December. The game is next February.

And then, just that fast, all eyes shift to North Texas.

“That sand does not stop falling out of the hourglass,” said Green, Vice President & COO of the North Texas Host Committee. “And it does give you that sense of perspective, and urgency, when you’re at one of these meetings.

“This is South Florida’s Super Bowl, and then it’s us. So you have to go into those meetings with a greater awareness that we’re next. The next time the June meeting happens, it will be in North Texas.” 

The purpose of the June Production Meeting was to bring the Super Bowl’s many facets together – the NFL’s events staff and contractors and so on.

“Whether it be security, operations, event planning, they all come together,” Green said, “and they go through the logistics of planning the event. People who put on a Super Bowl are based all over the country. They have to come together for face-to-face planning and walk-through type visits from time to time.”

Some 200 participants went over accommodations, accreditation, security, transportation, the emerging business program, the environmental impact, medical services, community outreach, on and on.

“Kit and I came away with a reaffirmation that we’re on track,” Green said. “We’re doing what we need to be doing now, which is planning and strategizing for producing Super Bowl XLV and its impact on North Texas. We are hitting our milestones like we should be. We are not too far ahead of the game, or too far behind the game. We’re right where we need to be.

“This is South Florida’s 10th Super Bowl, so they can do things in a completely different time schedule than we’re doing them. But we’re doing things our way because that’s how they need to be done in North Texas. And we feel we’re on the right track and on the right time schedule.”

The fact that Miami has hosted so many Super Bowls does not keep the next one from being unique. The NFL sees to that.

Sawers, the North Texas Host Committee’s Vice President/Special Events, said, “The NFL folks treat each Super Bowl as a new animal. Just because they’ve had the game in a certain place before doesn’t mean that they won’t completely shake it up to have a completely different experience.”

What the South Florida group does enjoy is an understanding of how early to nail down venues and locations.

“Since we don’t have a template,” Sawers said, “we’re trying to get ahead of the game when possible. So I feel very comfortable that we have already locked in on our venues wherever possible.”

What struck Sawers about the South Florida jaunt was the mutual admiration society that Host Committees enjoy with each other.

“It’s always refreshing to see how sharing the Host Committees all are with future Host Committees,” Sawers said. “The Tampa committee was so sharing with us last year, with their time and information and material.

“And this South Florida group has been really helpful, spending time showing us their plans. It’s not really a sense of competition, and who’s going to have a better Super Bowl. It’s how helpful can we be to you? I like that attitude.”

Sawers added, “I think it was important for us to have the opportunity to see the lay of the land, and to determine which venues might work for us. Just seeing the hotels helped, and the location of the hotels. And, looking at possible venues was a good educational experience.”

The meeting itself was not the only eye-opener.

“I was really impressed with the city of Fort Lauderdale,” Green said, “with how much it has to offer, how scenic it is, all the hotels that have been built up along the beach. They have a wide variety of upscale and luxury hotels on the beach.”

Indianapolis will host the Super Bowl following North Texas. Perhaps next June their people will return to Indiana and talk about how impressed they are with North Texas’ facilities and hospitality. Because before they know it, the Super Bowl storm will have come and gone in North Texas, and turn its force on Indiana.