Niners exec warns that new stadium doesn’t ‘guarantee’ Super Bowl as NFL rivals spend billions

Feb 6, 2026 - 13:15

It takes a lot more to host a Super Bowl than many think.

The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will battle it out on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.

Both Drake Maye, who just lost out on NFL MVP, and Sam Darnold will be competing for their first career ring.

Levi’s Stadium will play host to the biggest annual sporting event for the second time in 10 years.

The 49ers hosted Super Bowl 50 when the stadium was just two years old, witnessing the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers.

From the Pro Bowl to the game itself, gaining hosting rights for the Super Bowl has become a bigger challenge than it ever has been before.

The Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders are all building new homes with the Super Bowl in mind, but it is not as simple as throwing up a roof and waiting for the invite.

49ers CEO reveals competitive nature of Super Bowl bid

The 49ers recently celebrated Al Guido’s 10 years as president by promoting him to CEO.

He was heavily involved in securing the rights to host Super Bowl 50, and has explained how the process has dramatically changed.

Guido appeared on the 3& OUT with John Middlekauff podcast, and when asked if a new stadium guarantees a Superbowl, the newly-promoted CEO replied, “No you don’t.”

“What happens now is you sign up your interest, like an indication of your interest.

“You then get a note back from the NFL saying, we are willing to talk to you about a Super Bowl.

“Then you have to put your best foot forward, like a sales pitch. I had to gather all of our support necessary to convince the commissioner and Peter O’Reilly to bring it back.

A general overall aerial view of Levi's Stadium — Levi’s Stadium opened in 2014 hosted Super Bowl 50 between the Broncos and Panthers in 2016

A general view of The Vince Lombardi Trophy and The Pete Rozelle Trophy during the Super Bowl Winning Team Head Coach and MVP Press Conference at the Mandalay Bay North Convention Center on February 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. — The Vince Lombardi Trophy will go to either the Patriots or the Seahawks at Super Bowl LX

“To do that, we had the entire Bay Area caucus sign up for support, and all corporate sponsors, you have to generate a good amount of money just to put the event on given the size and scale of it.

“We were never guaranteed a Super Bowl, we felt good that we were going to get 50 as it was a brand new stadium, but you fast forward to 60, the competitive landscape was entirely different.

“It’s a really really competitive thing to be able to win the rights to host one of these.”

Super Bowl could be heading back to Las Vegas

The city of Las Vegas hosted it’s first Super Bowl in February 2024, when the Chiefs and 49ers met at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the city and NFL began exclusive negotiations to host Super Bowl 63 in 2029.

It would be the earliest possible return to Vegas as the NFL already has the next three host cities lined up.

A general view inside Allegiant Stadium during the national anthem ahead of the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Las Vegas Raiders on September 13, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. — Allegiant Stadium opened in 2020, and hosted the 2023 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Niners

The 2027 event will be hosted at SoFI Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams, and the 2028 game at the Atlanta Falcons‘ Mercedes-Benz stadium.

Legendary tight-end Rob Gronkowski and UFC CEO Dana White have both said the NFL should host the event in Vegas every year – but Roger Goodell does not share that view.

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