Houston area governments made a lot of promises to the NFL to host the Super Bowl, and although the city announced today that it’s spent $5.5 million on the Super Bowl so far, that doesn’t take into account everything they’re giving the NFL for free.
KHOU11 Investigates obtained agreements signed by both the city and the county detailing what services they’ll provide.
The extra taxes the city and county expect to collect? That won’t include any NFL money.
The NFL, teams, and all their affiliates and vendors are exempt from paying any state or local taxes.
They can file for a refund if they have to pay a sales, hotel or any other local tax up front.
Fees for renting the George R. Brown Convention Center, NRG Stadium and Discovery Green were also waived, as were special booths and private rooms at the airports.
Summed up, all "governmental services" are provided at no cost to the NFL -- public works, emergency services and all extra security and police.
The vast majority of the city’s budget, $4.6 million, is for police staffing.
The county, meanwhile, is estimating that it’ll spend $1.5 million on security. They even promised to provide two deputies to host visiting law enforcement from cities hosting the next three Super Bowls, according to documents.
Some costs will be reimbursed by the state’s Major Events Reimbursement Fund, along with funds raised by the host committee.
In addition, the host committee is providing the city with 34 tickets to the big game, according to an agreement signed in October.