Super Bowl Sunday is just 23 days away, and preparations are accelerating in downtown Fort Worth, which will be the home of the AFC champion and ESPN during Super Bowl week. Lids, a sporting goods retailer, will soon take up temporary residence in what used to be Billy Miner's Saloon; the building occupied by Saviano's, a new restaurant, is getting a paint job; and an eclectic list of special events is being planned, including hot air balloons, a tailgating contest and a Super Bowl pick from a prognosticating steer.
Sundance Square will illuminate the proceedings by outlining several buildings in LED lights -- either the traditional red of the AFC or the colors of the team representing the conference. What's more, a coordinated valet parking system will be implemented, easing parking concerns for visitors. Sundance Square officials expect downtown crowds comparable to the annual Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival and are reassuring residents that they won't see seven days of gridlock on streets or sidewalks beginning Jan. 31.
"Some people have heard about Super Bowl in other cities where everything is in one place, and they're not understanding that we don't think it will be like that here," said Tracy Gilmour, marketing director for Sundance Square Management. With NFL events and private functions scheduled across North Texas, there will be numerous venues for locals and out-of-town visitors to choose from. Sundance Square, however, will certainly be a focal point. In addition to ESPN's 80 hours of live TV and radio broadcasting from the Chisholm Trail lot, WFAA/Channel 8 and KTVT/Channel 11 will broadcast from downtown sets.
The Gateway parking lot, bordered by Third, Fourth, Houston and Throckmorton streets, will be the staging area for special events such as the National Tailgating Finals on Feb. 3 and the Hope Walk on Super Sunday. And all those former coaches and ESPN insiders won't be the only ones making Super Bowl predictions. Rusty, the Star-Telegram's resident steer, is scheduled to make his selection the afternoon of Feb. 4 by depositing a cow chip whenever the mood strikes him, after what promises to be a hearty lunch. Sundance Square is teaming with Fort Worth-based Rent a Frog to implement the valet system at its own expense.
Visitors will be able to leave their cars at one of four downtown locations and, if they dine downtown, their parking will be free. Those who come to simply enjoy the atmosphere and catch a glimpse of ESPN personalities and other celebrities will be charged $15. There will be newcomers to the neighborhood as well. Lids will temporarily occupy about 3,800 square feet that once was Billy Miner's, at Houston and Third, behind the Chisholm Trail lot. Lids has primarily been a mall-based store selling headgear, but the Indianapolis-based company is introducing a new line of stores called Lids Locker Room, which will sell a full array of sports apparel and merchandise.
Lids Locker Room in Sundance Square will sell Super Bowl apparel and merchandise licensed by the National Football League. It will open Jan. 21 and close a few days after the Super Bowl to liquidate inventory, said Jon Glesing, marketing and communications director. "Once the final two teams are determined, we'll fill the store with inventory of their merchandise," he said.
Lights will outline the Burnett, Woolworth, Sanger Lots, Virtuoso and Jett buildings as well as the storefronts on Houston between Third and Fourth beginning Jan. 28. ESPN is scheduled to begin building its TV and radio sets Jan. 24, when the studio director arrives.
This week, the network released its programming schedule, which begins at 5 a.m. Jan. 31 with Mike & Mike in the Morning (on ESPN radio and ESPN2) and ends each night with the SportsCenter signoff at 10 p.m.
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