10 Sporty Ideas for Football-Viewing Parties

Tony C's Sports Bar and Grill, a restaurant with two Boston-area locations, is serving up football-inspired fare this season. Clever menu items include a dish called "Pig Skins," which is actually potato skins with two types of cheese, bacon, scallions, and sour cream drizzled to reflect the stitches on a football.

To celebrate this year's National College Football Championship game in Dallas, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Joule Dallas owner Tim Headington, and advertising executive Ray Clark hosted a bash dubbed “the Night Before." Held at the Joule's new lounge Midnight Rambler on January 11, the evening offered trays filled with treats including lollipops with the logos of the game's two competing teams: Ohio State University and the University of Oregon. Lara Beth Seager, vice president of Global Hospitality for the Marketing Arm, planned the event.

The halftime performer for this year's game is Katy Perry. The energetic singer is known for her predilection for bright colors and love of candy and can inspire whimsical event ideas. For example, Perry’s video for the song “Birthday,” which debuted in 2014, was filmed at Duff’s Cakemix on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Confections included a cake covered in rainbow hearts and another that took the shape of a giant Rubik’s Cube.

Consider adding in a fund-raising component, such as a silent auction with a theme that reflects one of the Super Bowl's teams, to a viewing party. For example, in 2010, a silent auction at a Boston event included V.I.P. Fenway Park packages, a backyard barbecue with Narragansett beer, and autographed New England Patriots memorabilia.

Here's an idea for a thematic viewing area: In 2012, the N.F.L. threw its first fan-focused Super Bowl party in Canada. Sponsored by Bud Light, Toronto’s party took over Sound Academy. On an Astroturf carpet marked with yard lines, tall stools and tables made up the main seating area. A retractable screen was lowered over the stage while the game was on.

Astroturf can also be used in other spots. Food service company Sysco Metro NY served tacos and other hors d’oeuvres from a station covered in Astroturf at Jets & Chefs: the Ultimate Tailgate hosted by former quarterback Joe Namath and Mario Batali. The event was held as part of the New York City Wine & Food Festival in 2013.

Consider tying athletic decor—such as football cleats—into event decor. For example, at the 2012 Hudson River Park gala in New York, Matthew David Hopkins of 360 Design Events created centerpieces that incorporated running shoes and bicycle wheels.

Helmets can also serve as decorative accents. Tables at the premiere of football player Ernie Davis’s 2008 biopic, The Express, featured centerpieces with pom-poms, helmets, and pennants.

Or, look for a tablecloth that reflects a football theme. At Diffa’s Dining by Design in Chicago in 2013, an elegant tailgate party inspired the vignette from Sparc Inc., designed by Richard Cassis and Hunter Kaiser.

Solo cups are an often-spotted component of any tailgate party and can also be a fun, inexpensive way to dress up a football-viewing party. Turn the cups into decor by arranging dozens of them inside the spaces of hurricane fencing to spell out game day messages, as David Stark did for a high school graduation party in New Jersey in 2013.