The Super Bowl isn't simply a championship football game played on Sunday with really cool commercials and a sweet musical performance at halftime. No, it is a full-blown entertainment and sporting spectacle that takes over the host city for more than a week, filled with endless promotions, parties and concerts for fans and non-fans alike.
Super Bowl schedule 2016 for Broncos vs. Panthers: Weekend of events and television schedule
There is plenty to do in San Francisco even if you don’t have tickets to the big game on Sunday.
Although the actual game between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers will be held in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium, all of the off-field festivities are centered in the city of San Francisco.
The focal point of the world’s biggest party is Super Bowl City, a free, family-friendly festival throughout the week celebrating Super Bowl 50 and culture of the Bay Area. The other continuous event surrounding the big game is the NFL Experience, an interactive theme park including youth football clinics, autograph sessions and a ton of participatory games such as kicking field goals, running the 40-yard dash and a vertical-jump competition.
In addition to those ongoing attractions, which are free and open to the public, there’s also several special events starting Friday and through the weekend that give visitors a more in-depth and VIP-like Super Bowl experience (sometimes with a hefty price tag, though).
On Friday afternoon, the league hosts the Pro Football Hall of Fame Super Bowl Luncheon, and puts on a charity bowling tournament featuring NFL legends. Later that night is the annual Super Bowl Gospel Celebration at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.
The fun on Saturday includes the annual Super Bowl Breakfast, a celebrity golf tournament and the “Taste of the NFL” featuring dishes prepared by chefs from each NFL city. Super Bowl eve concludes with the league’s awards show -- NFL Honors -- which celebrates the best players and performances from the 2015 season.
The big game doesn’t kick off until 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, and you can ready for all the action with a whopping seven and a half hours of pregame programming on CBS starting at 11 a.m. ET. There will also be several sponsored tailgate parties in the Bay Area, along with the NFL Alumni Official Gameday Brunch, to make sure that you won’t have an empty stomach come game time.
For more events in the San Francisco area, check out this comprehensive calendar from the San Jose Mercury News.
The full weekend schedule is below. For more information on each event, visit the official site of the San Francisco Super Bowl host committee.
All times Eastern
Friday
2 p.m. - 1 a.m. -- Super Bowl City
5 p.m. - 1 a.m. -- NFL Experience
2 p.m. -- Pro Football Hall of Fame Super Bowl Luncheon
7 p.m. -- Legends on the Lanes (bowling tournament)
10:30 p.m. -- Gospel Celebration
Saturday
2 p.m. - 1 a.m. -- Super Bowl City
1 p.m. - 1 a.m. -- NFL Experience
11 a.m. -- Super Bowl 50 Celebrity Golf Classic
9 p.m. -- Taste of the NFL
9 p.m. -- NFL Honors live broadcast on CBS
Sunday Television Programming (CBS)
11 a.m. -- Super Bowl 50: Before They Were Pros
12 p.m. -- Road to the Super Bowl
1 p.m. -- Phil Simms All-Iron Team: Super Bowl Edition
2 - 6 p.m.The Super Bowl Today
6- 6:30 p.m. -- Super Bowl on CBS Kick-off Show
Sunday events
1 p.m. -- NFL Alumni Brunch
1 - 5 p.m. -- Super Bowl City
1 - 5 p.m. -- NFL Experience
5:15 p.m. -- Team warmups
6:15 p.m. -- National anthem and player introductions
6:30 p.m. -- Super Bowl 50
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