Despite A Surge In Covid-19 Cases, The Super Bowl Is Set To Return To Southern California

The decades-long wait for the Super Bowl to return to Southern California will end on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium despite the alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, according to Los Angeles County health officials on Thursday.

While those assurances are encouraging, the NFL has a contingency plan in place in case the raging pandemic fueled by the Omicron variant forces a pivot.

AT&T Stadium is primed to serve as a replacement site for Super Bowl 56, according to a report by WFAA, the ABC affiliate in Dallas where the venue is located. But again, those in LA County’s health department aren’t anticipating such a move.

Not since 1993 at the Rose Bowl when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills, and Michael Jackson performed at halftime, has the Super Bowl been held in the L.A. region.

The game coming back to where the first Super Bowl was played (then known as the AFL-NFL Championship Game) in 1967, is a big deal off the field, too.

The Super Bowl, and the week of its events leading up to the game, could provide an economical impact ranging from $234 million to $477 million, based on a study conducted by Micronomics Economical Research and Consulting for the Los Angeles Super Bowl Host Committee.

Those figures were calculated before the recent spike in coronavirus cases, which set another record in L.A. County on Thursday with 37,215 positive tests being tabulated.

SoFi Stadium, which has been open for two years but is capping its first season of allowing fans to attend NFL games, isn’t completely enclosed with significant openings above both end zones.

Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County’s public health director, is optimistic that the NFL title will be determined just outside of L.A. in Inglewood.

“I feel really confident that this event will happen here in L.A.,’’ she said. “There’s no indication that it won’t.’’

California recently extended its mask mandate for people while inside public spaces through Feb. 15. Super Bowl fans, like those attending L.A. Rams and L.A. Chargers games at SoFi Stadium this season, would be required to wear masks, except when eating or drinking, and show proof of vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test to enter.

Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, stressed in a statement not to overplay reports of the league having another venue ready for the Super Bowl.

“We plan on playing Super Bowl 56 as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 13,’’ he said. “As part of our standard contingency planning process that we conduct for all regular and postseason games, we have contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event we cannot play the Super Bowl as scheduled due to weather-related issues or unforeseen circumstances.’’

The virus forced the Rose Bowl to be moved from Pasadena to AT&T Stadium in 2021. Super Bowl 55 was held at its planned site in Tampa, Fla., but the seating capacity was limited to 25,000 because of Covid-19 protocols.

The Grammy Awards, which were to be held at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. on Jan. 31, was postponed earlier this week with the organization citing health and safety concerns.