In football, “The Big Game” is more than a game. To NFL fans, it’s an experience. That’s because in the U.S. it’s a cultural moment bigger than just game day. It’s Super Bowl Weekend! Whether you’re a football fan, a music fan, a lover of the spectacle that is “Game Day Advertising” or just like hanging with the people you love, it’s a reason to get together for a great time.

So when we had the opportunity to help the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee (AZSBHC) plan a weekend-long event around Super Bowl LVII, we were excited to create a space that was both what they needed and what fans and visitors of all types wanted.

Transforming Hance Park

At the center of the Super Bowl action, Hance Park was the site for a free, family-friendly event that sponsors could seamlessly plug into while making a splash for their brands and the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee too. We focused on a flexible site layout that would maximize the guests’ ability to access fun activities, food and beverage, and provide lots of photo ops and memories.

As we plotted the space, we created a variety of guest experiences. These art installations, stage dressing, and themes were part of AZSBHC’s pitch to sponsors. Inspiring brands to quickly activate in the space, either capitalizing on one of the concepts already designed for the space or helping provide parameters for their creative teams to concept within. Here’s how it panned out across the park.

With the NFL One Pass, people would gain free access to the experience which included many of the activations presented in our original proposal.

Opportunities for local artists to create Arizona-inspired murals and photo ops.
One of which was created by an indigenous artist, making Super Bowl history.

A multifunctional stage design that immersed people into whatever’s being presented. Whether it’s the first-ever Game Day Watch Party (which took place on Sunday at the event) or a particular band’s aesthetic, the stage “transformed” and came to life for big events as the sun set. Just like the desert itself.

And a sixteen-foot Lombardi trophy.

But that wasn’t even our favorite idea or the biggest eye-catcher of the event.

The Main Attraction

What’s a trip to Arizona without seeing a saguaro, the signature plant life of the Arizona desert? That’s why the centerpiece attraction of the experience was a GIANT Saguaro. The 44ft art installation was an homage to the spectacle of the desert and the spectacle of the sport.

Even though there are cacti all over the area, this particular one was the literal talk of the town.

There was even a competition to name it. The winner, “Super Spike”.

And like all things in our theme, it came to life at night. With a DJ playing from a booth at the top of the cactus structure and LEDs dancing around the outside.

The Desert Influence

It’s probably pretty clear that Arizona itself was a big inspiration for everything we created, and what drove the success of the event. Beyond cacti and vivid color, what we truly wanted to capture were the parallels between the living landscape and the spirit of the game. One insight that drove that was the energy of game time and its correlation to the way the desert springs to life as the sun goes down. This distinct point of view helped give the partners, artists, and vendors some creative guidance on their journies, and created an opportunity to deepen the activations narratively.

Across four days, the space transformed for concerts, tailgates, an array of football drills, and the Super Bowl Watch Party.

The Impact

The Super Bowl Experience at Hance Park was just a small part of the effort the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee put together. But for many, it was their whole Super Bowl LVII experience. The fans came out in force to the event across the weekend. And watched together at the first-ever Watch Party on Game Day (at our event).

25,000+ Watch Party Viewers
300,000+ Attendees
Countless memories

For the full picture of what the AZSBHC accomplished with our event and events around the state, take a look at the case study below.

Super Bowl is more than a game. And that was certainly true at Hance Park.

All work © Brett Brown & Krista Brown