The excitement of a championship football game is hard to beat – from the competition and adrenaline to the energy of cheering fans. Once a team is crowned AFC or NFC champion, the players move on to the biggest game in their careers: The Super Bowl.
Of course, recharging between these pivotal games is critical for the participating teams. So where do NFL players rest and prepare for the Super Bowl?
As the Super Bowl LI host city in 2017, Houston had to find hotels for NFL staff, sponsors and players. Ultimately, the Marriott Marquis Downtown was chosen as the NFL headquarter hotel, while the Atlanta Falcons stayed at the Westin Houston in Memorial City and the New England Patriots stayed at the Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria. To pump up the teams and visiting fans, bluemedia was brought in to make the event hotel signage pop with Super Bowl-themed graphics and décor.
The headquarters hotel, the Marriott Marquis, became home base for NFL staff and major sponsors during Super Bowl LI week. Before the AFC and NFC championship outcome was even known, bluemedia began installing general Super Bowl branded graphics around this hotel to cut down on last minute preparations. Then, a week later, the bluemedia team added detailed Patriots versus Falcons décor. On the outside of the Marriott Marquis, these graphics included a huge Vince Lombardi trophy on the side of the building, images of NFL players as you pull into the valet, and even “SUPER BOWL LI” installed at the bottom of the Marriott pool. Inside the hotel, the check-in desk featured more branded NFL wall graphics, a 3-D “LI” sculpture, and much more. Plus, a feature wall with 3-D cutouts of Tom Brady, Matt Ryan and the Vince Lombardi trophy was a huge hit for photographs with hotel guests.
The official winning AFC and NFC teams were determined just five days before the hotels had to be decorated on January 27, so the bluemedia team mocked up a graphics outline with the top two teams from each division to be prepared. Once the winners were locked down, bluemedia got to work at both the Westin Houston and Houston Marriot West Loop! They installed impressive event hotel signage, as well as décor around the lobby, player meeting rooms and private back entrances.
All of the hotel installations were done by the bluemedia team on active sites – meaning that although it was put up during the night, there were still guests and staff to work around. Overall, it took about 20 installers to finish the headquarter hotel, and about 10 installers to wrap up the projects at each team-specific hotel. Even though only one of the teams could ultimately win the Vince Lombardi trophy, bluemedia’s impressive Super Bowl graphics ensured that the whole city of Houston scored!
Thank you again for all your help making our event look stunning. You are magicians.
