For the second time ever and first time since 1992, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are hosting America’s greatest sporting extravaganza, when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New England Patriots, Sunday at 6:30 PM ET. Approximately 125,000 people will make their way to the nation’s 16th largest metropolitan area for the mega event, with the bulk of Super Bowl LII related proceedings occurring in downtown Minneapolis, downtown St. Paul and the large southern suburb of Bloomington.
Below is a detailed breakdown of the Twin Cities logistical operation, leading up to Sunday’s battle for the Lombardi Trophy, including Super Bowl team hotel info.
U.S. Bank Stadium sits in the eastern part of downtown Minneapolis, on the site where the Metrodome (venue for Super Bowl XXVI) once stood. The two-year-old home of the Vikings seats 66,000 fans and was constructed at a cost of $1.1 billion. The Eagles will use the Vikings' locker-room space, with the Patriots claiming the visitor's changing area.
The AFC champs are calling the JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America home. The JW sits nine miles south of downtown Minneapolis, in the city of Bloomington, attached to the nation’s largest shopping and entertainment complex.
Tom Brady and his teammates are preparing for the game at Winter Park, the Vikings Eden Prairie (MN) practice facility, located eight miles west of the hotel. Next season, the Vikings are relocating their headquarters from Winter Park to the brand new Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, in the nearby city of Eagan.
The NFC champs are lodging at the Radisson Blu Hotel Mall of America, Minneapolis, which is also attached to the mega shopping and entertainment destination.
Nick Foles and crew are getting ready at the recently renovated University of Minnesota football complex, situated 10 miles north of the hotel.
The approximately 5,000 credentialed media members will conduct their business inside the Mall of America, with the media center positioned in the mall’s rotunda and famed radio row based on level three, near the food court.
*The Mall of America, along with its attached hotels, is a short five-minute drive from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Formerly known as media day, the open to the public initial gathering of Super Bowl teams and media takes place Monday night, at the Xcel Energy Center, in downtown St. Paul. The home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild sits eight miles east of downtown Minneapolis and 11 miles northeast of the Mall of America.
League operations are based out of the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, located in downtown Minneapolis, 1.2 miles from U.S. Bank Stadium.
The interactive fan event is taking place at the Minneapolis Convention Center, in downtown Minneapolis.
The outdoor fan village is occurring on a six-block stretch of Nicollet Mall, a pedestrian only street, found in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.
NBC and the NFL Network are broadcasting from Nicollet Mall, amid the Super Bowl LIVE festivities.
ESPN has set up shop at the Crystal Court section of the IDS Center. The 57-story downtown Minneapolis structure is the tallest building in the state of Minnesota.