After Super Bowl, Bay Area sets aim at landing next big event: Women’s World Cup

SAN FRANCISCO — With a Super Bowl in the books and the FIFA men’s World Cup around the corner, the Bay Area Host Committee has already set its aim on the next marquee sporting event it wants to bring to the region.

As part of the U.S. bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, the Bay Area submitted Levi’s Stadium and Oracle Park as potential venues. FIFA officials were in town this week for the Super Bowl, and host committee CEO Zaileen Janmohamed said she was “hopeful” about the region’s chances.

“Personally, I want to bring a women’s event here — that would be really meaningful to me,” Janmohamed said after Monday morning’s news conference passing the Super Bowl torch to next year’s host, Los Angeles. “We’ll see how that goes, but we saw what happened this week when an event comes into this market. This place is awesome in hosting an event.”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell echoed the sentiment, calling the Bay Area a “very special place” and saying that the league “could not have had a better week.” While Super Bowl 60 took place Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, events throughout the week were spread between San Francisco, the East Bay and Silicon Valley.

“The innovation, the strength that you all have, the diversity, the creativity, the can-do atmosphere showed itself incredibly well this week,” Goodell said, crediting the mayors of San Jose and San Francisco, 49ers executives Jed York and Al Guido, as well as Janmohamed. “She just pulled it all together. This is a very complicated event, and she did it. So we are eternally grateful to her.”

According to York, the 49ers’ CEO, the Super Bowl generated “about $500 million” in economic impact around the region and brought in visitors who accounted for more than 100,000 room nights in local hotels. The 49ers also donated close to $10 million into the community this week, York said.

“If we can’t host a Super Bowl next year, we might as well keep it on the best coast,” York said. “The season starts today. The Niners are ready to get after it. Hopefully we’ll be there.”

With Super Bowl 61 coming to Los Angeles, it will mark the fourth time in NFL history that separate cities in the same state have hosted the game in consecutive years. The Men’s World Cup will also play matches at two venues in California, and Los Angeles is set to host the Summer Olympics in 2028.

“We know there is a lot of misinformation out there about our state,” Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis said. “But what we know is that there is a reason why we have two back-to-back Super Bowls. … Because California has the people, the cities, the sports teams, the sports fans, the incredible infrastructure, the hotels and the ability to continue to invest in all these things as the fourth-largest economy in the world.”

Janmohamed intends to keep the Bay Area as a prominent player for big events. When the Men’s World Cup arrives in June, with six matches at Levi’s Stadium, it will become the first time a venue has hosted a Super Bowl and the World Cup in the same calendar year.

“We’re going to take a couple days to regroup; otherwise my team is going to fall over,” Janmohamed said. “Close some things off with the NFL, make sure we transition really well, and by next week, we’ll be back at it and starting to go full-steam ahead on the World Cup.”

Janmohamed said she met with FIFA officials on Saturday.

The U.S., along with proposed co-hosts Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica, was the sole bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup when FIFA released proposals in November. A formal announcement awarding the tournament is expected in April, with cities and venues announced after that.

“I think what FIFA wants to make sure of is that the Women’s World Cup isn’t necessarily just a replication of the Men’s World Cup,” Janmohamed said. “There’s different cities in the country that might not have been considered for a Men’s World Cup. San Diego is a great example. So I actually have no idea how it’s going to play out. Obviously, the Bay is an important market for them. They have a lot of sponsors that are based out here. So I’m hopeful.”