My Mixed Emotions About San Jose Hosting Super Bowl 50 [View all]
http://www.siliconvalleydebug.org/articles/2016/02/05/my-mixed-emotions-about-san-jose-hosting-super-bowl
As a rabid NFL fan (albeit a supporter of the currently lackluster 49ers) I can’t help but find something cool about the biggest sporting event in the universe taking place in my backyard. Cam Newton was spotted grabbing a bite at La Vic’s on Monday, so what’s not to like about the Super Bowl right?...
The attempted vanishing of the homeless, the erecting of ‘clean zones’ where street vendors are barred from milking the tourism cash cow, local government bending over backwards for a monolithic corporate entity like the NFL, to name a few. As a person who cares about issues of equity and gentrification, there’s a lot to feel queasy about hosting the Super Bowl....
Also as a proponent of all things San Jose I've been impressed with the transformation of public space taking place downtown. I walked out of San Pedro Square on Saturday and saw a grass football field laid down the middle of the street. Kids and families were interacting and enjoying themselves in a way rarely seen in this city. In Cesar Chavez park some of San Jose’s best DJ’s and bands will be playing sets all weekend surrounded by food trucks and newly installed lighting and staging....
This is exactly how I feel like downtown’s current Super Bowl makeover. When the powers that be are ready to put Super Bowl level effort into activating public spaces on the average Thursday night San Jose will have arrived as a true urban center.
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