If you’ve been reading my series on Super Bowl travel then you know attending the NFL’s biggest game can take a serious bite out of your budget. Unless you snagged free game tickets, plane fare, and hotel accommodations by winning a contest, or you have relatives that live near Glendale, Arizona then you will likely be doling out big bucks to watch the New York Giants take on the undefeated New England Patriots.
However, for some, money is no object. And it is for you select individuals that I am writing this blog. If you have money to burn, then for the next 7 days the Phoenix area is your oyster.
Here are just a few of the big-ticket options available to you during Super Bowl week–provided you have plenty of cold hard cash on hand.
For $1,000 you can get yourself a VIP pass to rub elbows with dozens of A-list celebs. On January 31st the Scottsdale nightclub Axis/Radius will be rocking as pop singer Nick Lachey and NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson host a pre-party for their Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic, which takes place the day before Super Bowl Sunday. Outside the club, P. Diddy will perform during a late-night block party. Your VIP pass allows you to mingle between the two gigs and get up close and personal (if their bodyguards allow you) with more than 70 big names from the world of sports and entertainment.
Your cool grand will also allow you to graze on regional dishes and enjoy tropical libations. In addition, organizers say the block will be decorated with huge tents and the streets will be carpeted. Workers have also set up a glass catwalk that joins the two stages where Lachey and Diddy will be performing. And if that’s not enough the interior of the tents will be equipped with LED light walls.
Big, big spenders willing to drop $100,000 can get a table for 10 at the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee’s Big Ticket Gala, to be held Wednesday night before the game. For 100 grand you and your guests will be treated to the company of one Hall of Famer, who will be seated at your table. NFL legends Tony Dorsett, Gayle Sayers, Roger Staubach and Howie Long are among the possibilities for mealtime companionship. The affair is black-tie and will be hosted by Jay Leno and ESPN’s Chris Berman. Individual tickets start at $1,250.
For just $500 you can get a ticket to Friday night’s Big Bud Party at Jimmy Buffet’s Magaritaville club. Football superstars Deion Sanders and Emmit Smith are among the committed partygoers.
Of course the pre-parties will be distant memories come kickoff time. And if you had enough cash to drop on an actual game day ticket you won’t be disappointed by the accommodations. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale is the first sporting venue in North America to feature a retractable roof and a rollout grass field, and come game day it will hold nearly 75,000 fans. Stadium officials say it was designed to look like a barrel cactus, but locals say it looks like a spaceship.
Regardless of what it looks like on the exterior, the stadium’s interior, which consists of 88 suites and three party lofts, affords one of the most luxurious game-viewing environments in the league. Each suite comes equipped with flat-screen TVs, wet bars and video teleconferencing connections to the kitchen for “first-class food and beverage service.” The price for the modern digs on game day… no less than $100,000.
Cha-Ching!
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