Revisit LA's Super Bowl history as Bay Area hands off host duties for 2027

Los Angeles—already the cradle of Super Bowl lore—will once again become the center of the football universe when SoFi Stadium in Inglewood stages Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027, the NFL announced Monday. The handoff of hosting responsibilities from the Bay Area marks the city’s record-tying ninth turn as Super Bowl host and the second time the state-of-the-art venue will showcase the league’s title game.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hailed the return, noting that Southern California “is our backyard,” citing the region’s two franchises, NFL Network headquarters, robust media partners and the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics, which will include flag football. “We have the utmost confidence in the Los Angeles Super Bowl Host Committee to put on another great show,” Goodell said.

The 2027 contest will echo memories of Super Bowl LVI, played Feb. 13, 2022, when the hometown Rams captured the Lombardi Trophy amid a star-studded halftime tribute to hip-hop featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and company. Kathryn Schloessman, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, said the 2027 game will “leverage a global stage to celebrate [L.A.’s] history, uplift our communities, and create lasting economic and social impact that extends far beyond the final whistle.”

While the modern Super Bowl has ballooned into a week-long festival, the very first championship meeting on Jan. 15, 1967, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was a far simpler affair. Billed as the AFL-NFL Championship Game, the matchup drew roughly 62,000 spectators—the smallest crowd in Super Bowl history—and was carried by two television networks. Organizers had barely a month to prepare after the site was confirmed on Dec. 1, 1966. The halftime program, titled Super Sights and Sounds, featured marching bands, jet-pack daredevils, helium balloons and hundreds of pigeons rather than global pop icons.

Los Angeles later hosted Super Bowl VII at the Coliseum in 1973, when the kickoff temperature soared to a sizzling 84 degrees, still a record. The game shifted to Pasadena’s Rose Bowl in 1977, 1980, 1983, 1987 and 1993 before eventually landing in Inglewood’s $5 billion SoFi Stadium, which debuted in 2020.

In addition to the 2027 title clash, the league will stage ancillary events across the region, including NFL Honors, Super Bowl Experience, Super Bowl Opening Night and a community program designed to leave a local legacy.

Super Bowl LXI will therefore serve as both a homecoming and a showcase, tracing its lineage from modest beginnings at the Coliseum to a glittering global spectacle under the retractable roof of SoFi Stadium—proof that Los Angeles remains an essential chapter in the ever-evolving story of the NFL’s biggest game.