The NFL Experience Returns Bigger and Better Than Ever
For the past 19 years, the NFL has produced The NFL Experience, an eight-day event that surrounds the Super Bowl, which takes place this year on Feb. 6. This year, the event is going to Dallas for the first time, and it will be bigger and better than ever, according to the organizers.
The whole idea behind the NFL Experience is “…to put the ball in the fans’ hands,” says Christine Mills, director of events for the NFL. “We want people to experience the game for themselves, even if they don’t have tickets to the Super Bowl.”
The highly interactive event will take over the Dallas Convention Center, occupying more than 850,000 square feet and attracting an expected 175,000 fans and 5,000 volunteers. A record number of interactive games and sponsor attractions will be featured, including live entertainment, player autograph sessions, the NFL Shop, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, an exclusive Super Bowl rings display and more.
Fans will have the opportunity to test their skills in a variety of football activities in which they can run, throw, punt, kick and tackle just like the pros. A sampling of interactive areas include “Run to Daylight,” where fans can clock their 40-yard dash time, “The Drive,” the ultimate resistance training test as you struggle to reach the goal line while being restrained by a bungee harness and “Quarterback Challenge,” where fans will show off their passing accuracy on moving targets.
This year’s NFL Experience will also feature:
• The largest “NFL Rush Zone” to date, offering games and attractions designed for kids aged 3-10.
• The Wilson Football Factory where fans can help create a game-quality football from start to finish.
• The 30,000-square-foot NFL Shop will feature an extensive collection of NFL licensed apparel and merchandise from all 32 teams and Super Bowl XLV.
• The Memorabilia Show, where fans can obtain autographs from as many as 100 current and former NFL players. In all, nearly 10,000 free autographs will be distributed.
• Also new this year, the NFL Memorabilia Road Show offers fans the opportunity to dust off their own sports memorabilia collection and bring it to the NFL Experience to have it appraised for free.
• Coaches’ chats and Football 101 clinics will be held throughout the event in the replica NFL Locker Room.
• Inside the NFL Network Theater, fans will be able to view America’s Game from Super Bowl XLIV and preview the soon-to-be-released film about Super Bowl XLV.
Scenes from Past Experiences
Fans at the 2011 NFL Experience will be able to enjoy the largest Memorabilia Show to date. The 30,000- square- foot area will also be the site of live auctions, an appraisal fair and NFL players’ autograph sessions throughout the event.
NFL Clinic Field
The NFL Clinic Field at NFL Experience will host youth clinics, NFL Flag championship, cheerleading competitions and more. The Clinic Field is made of synthetic grass and painted with the NFL shield, just like a pro stadium.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame exhibit will feature a special traveling collection from the Pro Football Hall of Fame that includes newly-carved, bronze busts of the members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010, including Cowboy’s great Emmitt Smith.
SBXIII Experience
Children and adults alike participate in the Measure Up to the Pros exhibit, comparing size and stature of hands, feet and shoulders to those of current NFL players.