GLENDALE, AZ — Now that the Fiesta Bowl is a wrap, a massive undertaking will soon be underway as State Farm Stadium turns into the hub for football's biggest day.
“We’re used to putting on major events, but this is on a whole different level,” said Andy Gorchov.
Gorchov, the general manager for State Farm Stadium, says putting on the largest single day event in the world starts with nearly a year of planning.
Once the new year strikes, State Farm Stadium will be working side-by-side with the Arizona Super Bowl Committee and the NFL as an army of talent comes into town.
“This is pageantry, the Super Bowl is one of those events where the word pageantry really comes to mind, the colors, the graphics, the visibility of all the different elements of it,” said Gorchov.
In Tempe, Blue Media is creating those graphics now, using massive printers to create ten-story banners and signage that will help immerse football fans at every turn.
“It would have been an honor to work on one, the fact that we are about to start our ninth Super Bowl is something we never really dreamed would be possible,” said R.J. Orr with Blue Media.
Each design utilizes color palates specifically selected to highlight the state of Arizona.
“So, we talked about the ten miles of jersey mesh fence fabric that we ended up producing for Los Angeles last year, this is the room it gets done in,” said Orr, pointing at a $350,000 commercial printer.
The materials are only half of it; It also takes dozens of trucks to deliver the final product and hundreds of workers to put it in place.
“You need cranes, you need massive equipment... It takes a month's time just to get it prepared,” said Gorchov. “It truly is an incredible feat.”
But once it’s finished, fans can be assured they’ll get an experience like no other.
