The Super Bowl Experience in Miami Beach Is an Interactive Playground for NFL Fans

There’s only one place in Miami to see the Vince Lombardi Trophy before the Super Bowl-winning team hoists it, smooches it, showers it with champagne, and whatever the hell else one does with it. The sterling silver laurel will be on display at the Miami Beach Convention Center as part of the NFL's Super Bowl Experience, billed as "pro football's interactive theme park," Saturday, January 25, through Sunday, January 26, and Wednesday, January 29, through Saturday, February 1.

Fans are invited to take photos with the Lombardi Trophy, which will ceremoniously be delivered to the Miami Beach Convention Center January 25 by a yet-to-be-announced past Super Bowl champ. This won't be the only time a famous face appears at the annual exhibit: Dozens of past and present NFL players will be on hand to sign autographs during the Super Bowl Experience. The complete autograph session schedule will be released at a later date on the NFL OnePass app, but NFL director of events Nicki Ewell has confirmed that South Florida football god Dan Marino is slated to attend.

The stars will also be out and about on the second floor of the Miami Beach Convention Center in the media row. It's where NFL players do the media rounds to awkwardly plug whatever brand paid them to be there. Fans who've been dying to view this invigorating process unfold will be able to enjoy it from a designated area.

For anyone looking to work up a sweat, the Super Bowl Experience also offers football skill challenges such as the 40-yard dash and a vertical jump that allows participants to compete against NFL running backs Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry via LED screens. Younger guests can go nuts in the Play 60 Zone and take part in youth football clinics. And because the NFL knows millennials love their look-at-me Instagram photos, the Super Bowl Experience will include plenty of photo ops; naturally, this year's offerings will come with a Miami-centric vibe.

"We're really embracing the art community in Miami," Ewell says, noting the popularity of Wynwood's multitutde of murals and Art Basel Miami Beach. "There are going to be a lot of cool photo ops that lean into the Miami art community."
Ewell highly recommends that locals interested in checking out the Super Bowl Experience come by during opening weekend. She says admission will be $20 during those initial dates — as opposed to $40 from January 29 onward, when the city will be overrun with out-of-towners — as a sort of thank you to the host city.

"If you live in Miami, don't come Saturday, February 2 [if you can help it] when perennial Super Bowl goers and fans of the participating teams converge on the city," Ewell says. "The lines will be longer and tickets double in price for adults."

This year marks the first time the Super Bowl Experience (formerly known as the NFL Experience) has taken place in Miami since 2007, when the event was held outside Hard Rock Stadium (then known as Dolphin Stadium). Former NFL senior vice president of events Frank Supovitz told the Sports Business Journal the league canceled the NFL Experience when Miami last hosted the Super Bowl in 2010 because the city had just hosted the big game three years earlier and the league wanted to keep the event calendar fresh. So repeat visitors and first-time guests alike will see plenty of new sights at the 2020 edition of the Super Bowl Experience.

The Super Bowl Experience. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, January 25; Friday, January 31; and Saturday, February 1. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, January 26. 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, January 29; 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday, January 30, at Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach, 786-276-2600; superbowl.com. Tickets cost $20 to $60 via ticketmaster.com; kids 12 or younger get in free.