Levi’s Stadium Debuts Upgrades Ahead of Super Bowl, FIFA 2026 World Cup

Within a year’s time, more attention than ever will be focused on Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

With the Super Bowl coming in February and then six matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the stadium recently unveiled $200 million in renovations as it welcomed hundreds of season ticket holders for “Levi’s Stadium Under the Lights.”

“We were super proud and very grateful that the feedback was enormously positive,” said Stephanie Rogers, the San Francisco 49ers’ executive vice president of marketing. “Everybody has seen the construction happening at the stadium for several months. To show it off was a jolt of energy not only for season-ticket holders at the building but partners there who were able to see their hard work come to life.”

Levi’s Stadium, capacity 68,500, opened in 2014. The renovation project features new video boards over 70% larger than the previous boards. Other upgrades include new LED field lights, new Wi-Fi and cellular networks, over 120 renovated luxury suites and club spaces and a renovated team store.

“We’re all very proud and super grateful to have this opportunity,” in 2026, Rogers said. “When you talk to anybody who works in sports and you ask them what their bucket list events are, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who doesn’t put a Super Bowl or World Cup among their top five. We know it’s a huge undertaking and a huge responsibility to deliver for the fans of these sports, and we are excited and proud of the chance to deliver it.”

Construction began last December with preparation starting the day after the 49ers regular season ended. Work was completed in July but planning for renovations began nearly two years ago.

“We have very consistent ongoing dialogue with everybody in the stadium, whether season ticket holders or suite holders or partners,” Rogers said. One example is that fans wanted more core football statistics on the video boards to see easily, so the 49ers worked to develop a video board layout that will ensure a spot with only football-specific content the whole game.

There are also plenty of small but noticeable touches intentional throughout the venue including the production control room, which has 49 monitors and was of big interest from season-ticket holders who had never seen the area before, Rogers said.

“One of the things that I’m really proud of for the team is that all the tech in the room is not out of date, it’s going to grow and evolve,” said Rogers, which is in part credit to the team’s partners in the Silicon Valley region. “What we’re trying to build here, we want to be sustaining the next 8-10 years the next wave of buildout.”

The venue hosted the Super Bowl in 2016 and next summer will host five FIFA World Cup group stage games and a round of 32 game. Rogers said since the venue opened, Levi’s Stadium has driven over $2 billion in estimated economic impact to the region. In 2026 alone it expects to drive $1 billion.

“I think having these events certainly was a motivation and a mark on the calendar,” Rogers said. “But also making these investments and enhancements to the fan experience not only sets us up well to deliver an incredible show for those massively global stages but also long-term, we want to solidify ourselves as a global sports and entertainment destination venue.”

Between the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup, there will not only be hundreds of thousands of fans attending the games but millions more around the world watching and seeing the venue. The 49ers also have global marketing arrangements in the United Kingdom, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates with a large fan base in Germany added in for even more eyeballs on Levi’s Stadium.

“I hope they see a venue that they immediately add to their bucket list if it isn’t already on there,” Rogers said. “We strive to deliver a fan experience that you can’t get anywhere else in the world. We want fans to come here from afar to enjoy Levi’s Stadium. When they’re watching the big game or any of the FIFA matches, I hope they see a stadium that’s gorgeous and technologically advanced and looks like a place they want to come and experience incredible sporting experiences for themselves.”