The NFL Experience offers plenty for football fans to enjoy
By Steve Hermanos
IJ correspondent
Yes, it’ll be crowded. But there’s an unending amount of fascinating, shiny, football stuff inside. It’s likely to be a hassle to get there. But children under 12 are admitted free, and if they are football fans, the kids will enjoy it, as long as it’s not too jam-packed.
In fact, the NFL Experience — at the Moscone Center in San Francisco this week — described by an NFL executive as a “football theme park,” is (hard for some to believe) tasteful. The displays of bling are museum-quality, including championship rings from all 59 Super Bowls; a glassed-over locker from every team, each with a jersey, helmet, and equipment from a star player; Lombardi trophies; a free-standing grid of metallic footballs; 32 rhinestone-encrusted helmets rotating under spotlights (perhaps the last noted isn’t exactly tasteful).
For kids, and limber adults, there are lots of activities. At a rectangle about a third the size of a football field, wannabe quarterbacks can spiral footballs at moving archery-style targets. There’s a 40-yard dash, an extra-point kick (no NFL chiropractor on hand), a vertical jump challenge, and a group of brown obelisks — tackling dummies with the signage and the color of Snickers bars.
Attendees will likely see NFL players past and present, some mingling out on the floor with fans at various activities. Jerry Rice has promised to stop by the Wilson sporting goods display and sew and shape a football, where craftspeople from the Wilson factory in Ohio will be stitching together NFL-grade balls. Will watching artisans attract more kids than the shiny Madden video game trailer? Probably not, but parents can at least
hope that their kids will find it interesting how the textured, oblong projectile is created.
On street level, near the front doors, there’s a beautiful, colorful display of 59 art pieces by San Francisco artist Erin Fong, who uses wood blocks and bright colors to make poster-sized sheets. Each of the 59 pieces features a quote from one of the players, coaches, or owners, right after his team won the Super Bowl.
On the plus side, the quotes in Fong’s work capture a Super Bowl winner’s ecstasy. On the negative side, the quotes were dictated by NFL executives, not chosen by the artist. These pieces are one-of-a-kind, and are not (currently, at least) for sale. As John Madden would have exclaimed, they are tasteful as heck!
For those into history and high-end memorabilia, one corner of the bottom floor features about a hundred items up for auction from Christie’s and Hunt Auctions, including Jackie Robinson’s bat, Muhammad Ali’s robe, the saddle Ron Turcotte wore atop Secretariat in 1973, along with antique leather football helmets and signed, game-worn jerseys by many football Hall of Famers. The reps from the auction houses are friendly experts and can answer questions about the booming sports memorabilia market.
There’s a huge amount to do and see and be dazzled by, and here, surprisingly, the NFL isn’t looking to extract all of the money out of your checking account. They really want kids to have fun at the NFL Experience, where, interestingly, there are no booths or activities sponsored by gambling companies. That’s for adult fans, and for the NFL’s astounding profitability.
Where: Moscone Center South. 787 Howard Street, San Francisco. You will not be able to drive to the front. See below.
When: Tuesday to Friday, 3pm – 10pm; Saturday, 10am-10pm. Organizers suggest (almost beg) Bay Area families to attend on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and avoid Friday and Saturday, as they expect rabid hordes from Seattle and New England
to soon be packing the Moscone Center. That’s part of the reason ticket prices rise after Thursday.
Ticket availability: Tickets are currently available. Ticketmaster.com sells them. The box office at Moscone Center does as well, but you risk higher ticket prices the longer you wait (see below), along with standing in a long line.
Download This!: The NFL states that ticket holders must download the NFL OnePass app on their phone to view tickets.
Beware: There is “dynamic” (the arrow points up) pricing. Prices will probably rise through the week.
Current ticket Prices: Tuesday to Thursday, $40; Friday, $50; Saturday, $80. Children 12 & under, free.
Enhanced tickets: As in many spheres of American life nowadays, if you pay extra, you can cut some lines. Beginning mid-afternoon some days, 7pm on others, there are $100+ tickets which will empower the holder to slice past lots of sneering attendees. If parents desire for their 12-and-under kids to learn to similarly traipse past waiting hordes, they will have to pony up $100 for each of their youngsters.
Getting there: From Marin, the NFL advises taking the bus or ferry. Über, Lyft, or a taxi will likely get you close.
Parking: For those who cling to their four-wheeled vehicle, streets around the Moscone Center are blocked off, and the NFL has commandeered the 5th & Mission garage for its own purposes; trying to drive onto Mission Street near the Moscone Center will likely be met with a police officer’s head shaking no at you and pointing you in a direction you do not want to go. Consider parking on the north side of Market Street, along the Embarcadero, or garages familiar to Giants fans near Oracle Park.
Last warning: Driving within a few blocks of the Moscone Center risks getting you and yours stuck in gridlock hell.
Suggestion: Brave families, go!