SAN JOSE — A top South Bay business leader hopes to draw up a game plan to ensure San Jose can score plenty of economic benefits from upcoming sports mega-events.
The Super Bowl, several World Cup matches and a round of the men’s college basketball tournament are all slated to be held in the San Jose area in 2026
San Jose is attempting to craft ways for the city’s economy to benefit from these events.
To succeed, the Bay Area’s largest city will have to shift gears on how it views major sports occurrences as part of a large economic tapestry rather than as individual strands, in the view of San Jose Chamber of Commerce President Leah Toeniskoetter.
“We have to start to think of sports and entertainment as an economy, rather than here is one event, here is another, and then another,” Toeniskoetter said in an interview with this news organization.
Much of the work is already underway. But an event on Thursday is poised to kick off major discussions about San Jose’s quest for winning economic strategies when the three events occur.
The San Jose Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual Leaders and Legacy membership dinner in the city’s downtown. The event is slated to occur at the Marriott Downtown San Jose.
The chamber’s event includes a discussion panel moderated by San Jose State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson. The panelists were slated to be Bay FC Chief Executive Officer Brady Stewart, San JOse Earthquakes President Jared Shawlee, San Jose Sharks President Jonathan Becher, and San Francisco 49ers Executive Vice President of Marketing Stephanie Dittmer Rogers.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan was also scheduled to speak.
“As we gear up for major sporting milestones in 2026, including Super Bowl LX, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and the FIFA World Cup, we’ll explore the opportunities these events create for local businesses and our broader community,” the San Jose Chamber of Commerce stated.
Levi Stadium is slated to host the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup, while the SAP Center in downtown San Jose is due to be the venue for some of the college basketball March Madness games.
The work must get into full swing almost immediately, especially since one of the events, the Super Bowl, is slated to occur in roughly a year from now.
“These are three phenomenal events, potentially generating half a billion dollars of economic impact for Santa Clara County,” Toenisoetter said.
San Jose must maneuver around obstacles that immediately pose a challenge to the Bay Area’s largest city.
For one thing, San Jose’s convention center is too small to host major meetings such as those tied to a gigantic event such as the Super Bowl. Plus, the South Bay city lacks sufficient hotel rooms for many huge events.
“We still miss out to San Francisco because the NFL Super Bowl experience requires a certain amount of square footage that we cannot offer at the San Jose Convention Center,” Toeniskoetter said.
The hotel disparity is particularly stark.
“San Francisco also has 30,000 luxury hotel rooms and we have 4,500,” Toeniskoetter said. “The leaders of all the NFL teams have very high-level requirements for hotel rooms. We can’t offer that.”
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament will land at the SAP Center in downtown San Jose, she noted.
“We will definitely directly benefit because that’s in San Jose,” Toeniskoetter said.
The soccer matches for the World Cup are also going to be crucial.
“To have six World Cup games is a huge win for the South Bay,” Toeniskoetter said. “That could bring in $300 million by. itself.”
Plus, overall, 108 matches are scheduled for the World Cup, she estimated.
“We want to show all 108 matches in San Jose in some way, shape, or form,” Toeniskoetter said. “We can shut down a street and have game watches for every event. That level of coordination is a real opportunity to show off downtown San Jose for such an amazing event.”
The planning for these three events could kick off major long-term changes in San Jose’s ability to use sports to bolster its local economy, she said.
“We have to make larger investments so our area is even more attractive to these national and international sports events,” Toeniskoetter said. “We need to create literal entertainment districts around the arenas and stadiums in the area.
