Arizona hands off Super Bowl to Las Vegas; watch party in Phoenix saw record crowds

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The Super Bowl Host Committee has formally handed off the big game to next year’s hosts: Las Vegas!

The game was watched in 200 countries, including some locations in the Caribbean that have never had the signal capacity to watch a Super Bowl until this year. Mayor Kate Gallego told Arizona’s Family reporter Susan Campbell, “We had a 106,000 at the free event in Hance Park, and we now have the all-time record of 21,000 for a first-ever, NFL-sanctioned watch party--a free event in downtown where we could all come together as a community,” the mayor said. If you’re doing the math--that’s more than 110,000 visitors to Hance Park events alone!

Governor Katie Hobbs addressed the press conference audience, congratulating the Chiefs on their win. “I know that we have set the bar pretty high. This is the 4th chance we’ve had to host the Super Bowl, and we love taking the chance to show the world what Arizona has to offer.”

NFL Commissioner Robert Goodell said the committee is now zeroing in on Las Vegas. “You know that Las Vegas knows how to do big events. They really have done an extraordinary job of understanding how we want to represent the NFL in their community and most importantly how to do it Las Vegas-style.”

After the press conference, the committee revealed a giant football sculpture showing off Super Bowl LVIII’s Las Vegas-themed logo. Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid spoke after the committee presentation and when asked what his next career move is, “I’m enjoying what I’m doing...we’re doing okay!”

Patrick Mahomes also made an appearance at the event to say he’ll be resting his ankle during the off-season. “When I got tackled it rolled to the outside a little bit,” he said. “Coming into the game I felt way better than I did coming into the Cincinnati game.”