Leave the grill at home. Tailgating is taboo at Miami’s Super Bowl
Cleaning your grill for Super Bowl Sunday?
Go ahead — but don’t expect to use it at Hard Rock Stadium when the 49ers and Chiefs face off.
Tailgating won’t be allowed on game day. NFL policy.
Tailgating won’t be allowed at any of the NFL-controlled lots or garages in the stadium (Translation: all of them) because of the limited amount of space and for security reasons, said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.
Fans can still party before the game — but it just has to be kept in an individual parking spot, he said. And there’s not much room to do that with your car there.
You’re also not allowed to erect tents, have “lit flames” or take up more than one parking space.
What can you bring to the parking lot?
Food, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, chairs, coolers and speakers to play music.
It might anger some fans who were planning to celebrate the biggest game of the year with booze and burgers, but it isn’t anything new.
The NFL hasn’t allowed tailgating at Super Bowl games for years though it has been hesitant in the past to call it an outright tailgate ban. In 2013, several years after the NFL became stricter on Super Bowl tailgating, McCarthy told CNN that people could still tailgate but it would have to be at a smaller scale.
After the 9/11 attacks, the same rules also applied at South Florida’s previous Super Bowl, McCarthy said this week.
Instead of a “traditional” tailgate, McCarthy said fans who have tickets to the game can enjoy the NFL’s free “Game Day Fan Plaza.” It includes concerts, NFL network pre-game shows with NFL players, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s band and other activities inside and outside the stadium.
Fans can also buy one of the NFL’s ticket packages. The cheapest packages were selling for $3,995 Thursday morning and includes a ticket to the game, along with a pregame party filled with NFL Alumni appearances, music and, yes — tailgate games, food, drinks and photo ops.
Keep in mind that prices are fluctuating. Two days earlier, the cheapest packages were selling for $4,591.
Parking and garages will open at 1 p.m. Feb. 2. The plaza festivities begin at 2 p.m.
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
