Guests posed for photos in front of an arrivals wall composed of greenery and a floral interpretation of the festival's logo.
Designs by Sean created the focal-point chandeliers in the north event tent. The company incorporated the specific event's color scheme, like the orange and green design for Best of the Munchies.
Event Eleven built a 30-foot-tall, 300-foot-wide hand-carved rock wall. Sponsor Mercedes-Benz displayed its AMG GT vehicle in front of a tunnel visual embedded into the wall. Nearby, fellow sponsor Ciroc hosted a circular bar that doled out specialty drinks with thematic names such as the Kickoff. Engine Shop secured sponsors for the evening and handled social media on site.
Other sponsors' names—including Coors Light, Curve Sport, and Omnia Nightclub by Hakkasan Group—appeared on a desert-inspired step-and-repeat that had a sandy tan carpet in lieu of a red one.
Miller Lite was a sponsor, and 24-ounce cans of the product formed an eight-foot decorative wall at the entrance to the venue. As guests entered, brand ambassadors wearing biker-inspired costumes handed them a can.
Another first time event was The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard Pre Game Party, which took place in a Scottsdale Airport hangar splashed with gobos on January 31. The invite-only event drew celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, and host Usher drove a Mercedes GTS into the event. Mercedes was a sponsor.
Guests could watch a replica of the Puppy Bowl live at the downtown activation. Organizers worked with the Arizona Humane Society, which brought in litters of up-for-adoption puppies to the event.
ESPN also returned to host a large-scale Super Bowl bash on January 30 at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Lauren Robinson, ESPN's associate director of sport management, worked with 11-time event producer Tony Schubert of Event Eleven to produce and design the event. The party was meant to conjure a "hip desert retreat" and was decked with mid-century furniture, planters holding cacti, floating staircases, and shadowboxes showcasing sporty images. Other vendors involved in transforming the center into a party-ready space included Felix Lighting, Sound Image, Accurate Staging, Zac Hartog Events, Primo XL, and V Squared Labs; Hired Gun Publicity & Consulting handled publicity.
The event had 400 feet of floor-to-ceiling projections that featured desert scenery and time-lapse content. Tashman handled audiovisual production.
