Super Bowl LXI kickoff event includes announcement of media summit in February

INGLEWOOD — One of the topics of discussion at the inaugural Super Bowl Media Summit next February couldn’t be more timely.

Read more Orange County football Top 25: Huntington Beach moves into Top 10

“One of the subjects we’re going to talk about is the investment of private equity into sports leagues. What does that do? And what does this do for the future of fandom? What is the future going to look like for sports media properties, for teams,” said Kathryn S. Schloessman, President and CEO of both the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission and the Los Angeles Super Bowl LXI Host Committee. “Even though it’s the Super Bowl media summit, it’s not just on football. It’s on the whole sports (landscape).”

The announcement of the summit made by Schloessman at a Super Bowl LXI kickoff press conference at SoFi Stadium Monday morning comes just weeks after Mark Walter, the Dodgers owner and CEO of TWG Global, an American multinational holding company, agreed to sell controlling interest in the Lakers to venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Robert Iger.

The revealing of the media summit also comes against the backdrop of the NBA banning Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft executive, for a year and fining the franchise $30 million for violating salary cap circumvention rules.

Schloessman said the invitation-only summit held at the YouTube Theater on the grounds of SoFi will feature “really good speakers on cutting-edge subjects and getting the right people in the room so that they’re talking. It’s almost as important to have the good speakers as the people in the hallway talking to each other. Focus on what’s new, what’s next.”

The future and legacy were recurring themes Monday morning. The first Super Bowl held on Valentine’s Day will be part of what Schloessman called an “unprecedented run of hosting major sports events that will never be seen again, especially anchored by the Olympics, World Cup and Super Bowl.”

Read more Gabriel’s law — named after 8-year-old Palmdale torture victim — is signed by Gov. Newsom

Super Bowl LVI held at SoFi in February 2022 created approximately 160 event production contracts for local businesses, Schloessman said. Super Bowl LXI will have an economic impact of upward to $500 million on the “Los Angeles region.”

“This is a significant opportunity and our job as the host committee is to make sure that this opportunity reaches as far across the region as possible,” she said. “Super LXI isn’t just about showing up in Los Angeles. Los Angeles businesses will build it, deliver it and bring it to life.”

The LASEC business connect program in partnership with the NFL Source procurement program, Schloessman said, “will connect local businesses to contracting opportunities, provide them the information they need to compete effectively and help position them to be contract-ready not just for this Super Bowl but for opportunities beyond it.

“It wasn’t just a successful program. It established a legacy,” Schloessman continued, referring to the 2022 game. “We have an opportunity to build on that legacy and create even more pathways for local businesses to participate in the world’s largest sporting events.”

Read more Bills meant to stop Trump from meddling in California elections are signed by governor