PHOENIX (March 19, 2014) — When the Super Bowl returns to Arizona next February, a dozen city blocks in downtown Phoenix will be transformed into “Super Bowl Central,” a hub for worldwide media and fan-friendly entertainment.

Super Bowl Central is expected to attract 1 million fans to downtown Phoenix in the days leading up to the big game, according to the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, which made the announcement Tuesday (media release attached).

The Phoenix Convention Center will house both the NFL Experience (the world's largest interactive football theme park) and the NFL Media Center (the headquarters for 5,000 media members). The nearby CityScape shopping and entertainment district will be the site of NFL House, a hospitality hub for business partners and Super Bowl VIPs.

Capitalizing on Phoenix's 70-degree February weather, Super Bowl Central also will feature an outdoor fan campus filled with live music, family-friendly activities, beer and wine gardens, and street-level merchants.

“Hosting Super Bowl events downtown garners Phoenix tremendous positive exposure as a place to hold a convention or event,” said Steve Moore, president and CEO of Visit Phoenix. “When Arizona hosted the Super Bowl in 2008, downtown was still largely a construction zone. Next year's game will give us a chance to showcase the Phoenix Convention Center, light rail, CityScape, and the many new hotels, restaurants and event venues in the city's urban core.”

For more details, please see the attached media release. If you would like to read the Arizona Republic's coverage of Tuesday's announcement, you can do so here.