Headaches for Spectators Post-Super Bowl
The game itself was a blowout. 43-8 is a less than tantalizing score, particularly if you were a Broncos fan. But even if you weren’t a die-hard fan and you were just there for the glory of a good game, you probably left sorely disappointed. This event created huge headaches for spectators post super bowl.
And then there was this: the transportation was a mess. More than a mess. It was an utter failure, and it was an embarrassment for Super Bowl organizers, for the NFL, and for New Jersey.
So, how did this event become a headache for spectators post Super Bowl?
As anyone in the New York Metro area was well aware, Super Bowl XLVIII was dubbed the “first mass transit Super Bowl.” The organizers encouraged spectators to take public transportation to the game. In fact, the organizers discouraged spectators from driving to the game. Only 8,500 car permits were sold—at $150 a pop, no less—which, when you’re looking at spectator numbers of 82,529, doesn’t make a dent in getting everyone to and fro.
So, how was everyone else going to get to the game? Rail and bus. The NFL speculated that about 8,000 fans would take the train to and from the game. New Jersey Transit thought that number was low, so they doubled it, planning for 16,000. They estimated that 45,000 – 50,000 would take the bus. They estimated that 25,000 would come by car.
What happened? 19,500 arrived by car, leaving 2000 of the permits purchased at $150 each unused. Only 40,000 by one estimate, 43,000 by another arrived by bus. Meanwhile, a staggering 29,000 arrived by train, and 34,000 left by train. This crushed the NFL’s predictions and New Jersey Transit’s “high” estimate. More than double what New Jersey planned for and four times what the NFL predicted piled onto trains. Or, at least, they wanted to.
As we mentioned before – Headaches for spectators post super bowl
What ensued was a night of waiting, followed by more waiting, followed by more – very frustrated – waiting. Fans piled out of the stadium and stood idle for up to three hours while trains and busses were full to capacity. Prior to the game ending, one train was running per hour. Once it had officially ended, six ran per hour. By three hours after the game, everyone in the audience was on their way home.
This is a tough experience to boil down, as far as winners and losers go. The estimates were wildly off. But the fact is that in under three hours, 34,000 people – more than twice what New Jersey Transit prepared to handle – successfully left the stadium and were on their way home. Officials in New Jersey see this as a win, given that no one is still standing idle at the stadium, hoping for a ride. They stepped up to the plate and made it work.
From the perspective of fans, though, who endured a blowout game and many of whom could not leave the NY area for another day or two due to snow-related flight cancellations, the entire thing was a bust. Waiting around to go home after all of the promises that New Jersey’s great public transportation was going to rule this game was salt in an open wound – especially for Broncos fans.