The Super Bowl is all about excess: Big crowds, eye-poppingly expensive TV commercials, and of course, gut-busting consumption of pizza and buffalo wings. That the game is being played in Texas this year only adds to the spectacle. (Watch an AP report about the hoopla.) Here's a look at the circus that is Super Bowl XLV, by the numbers:
$10.1 billion
Total expected Super Bowl-related consumer spending this year
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$59.33
Amount the average consumer is expected to spend on Super Bowl merchandise and snacks this year, according to a survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association
$52.63
Amount the average consumer spent on Super Bowl merchandise and snacks last year, according to the survey
106.5 million
U.S. viewers who watched the game last year, a Super Bowl record
51.7 million
Households that watched the game last year, the most for any television program ever, beating the 1983 finale of "M*A*S*H," which was seen in 50.2 million homes
61.2 million
Americans who are planning on attending a Super Bowl party this year
34.9 million
Americans who are planning to throw a Super Bowl party this year
35 percent
Boost in sales pizza chains see on Super Bowl Sunday. It's the most popular pizza delivery day of the year, topping Halloween, the day before Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day.
1 million
Number of pizzas Papa John's expects to sell on Super Bowl Sunday
2 million
Pounds of cheese Papa John's plans to use on Super Bowl Sunday
350,000
Pounds of pepperoni included on all those pizzas
4.5 million
Super Bowl viewers who say they will buy a new television for the game this year
25.8 percent
Share of viewers who say they watch the Super Bowl for the commercials
$3 million
Estimated cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad this year
$250 million
Amount Fox, which is airing the game, is expected to take in from advertisers
450
SUV's donated by GM for "VIP duties" leading up to the game. All the vehicles were made at the nearby GM plant in Arlington, Texas
200,000
Out-of-town visitors expected in North Texas to watch the game or soak up the atmosphere
$202 million
Amount those visitors are expected to spend on hotels, rental cars, and other expenses in the North Texas area
3,000
Private security officers the NFL is lending North Texas to monitor any suspicious activity. Arlington Police Chief Theron Bowman maintains that this will be the safest Super Bowl ever.
2
Years that federal, state, and local officials have spent preparing their Super Bowl security plan. It includes bomb-sniffing dogs, horse-mounted cops, and a "roving robot camera called a 'throwbot' because it's so small it can be tossed through a window."
50
SWAT team members on hand with "Super Bowl experience"
25
Police dog teams the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is contributing
19,000
Explosive compounds the security dogs are able to detect
103,985
Current record for highest Super Bowl attendance ever, set at 1980's Super Bowl XIV, at the Rose Bowl in California
105,000
High estimate of Sunday's Super Bowl crowd — including 95,000 fans in the stands, 5,000 people watching the game in the "Party Plaza" outside the stadium, and 5,000 staff and media
108,713
Attendance record at Cowboys Stadium (which opened in June 2009), set at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game last February
$295,000
Going rate on the ticket broker StubHub for a seat in Cowboys Stadium's Hall of Fame Suites
$200
Going rate to stand outside the stadium and watch the game on a giant screen
16
Percentage of Pittsburgh's average household income a Steelers fan would spend to visit Dallas and attend the Super Bowl "on the cheap," according to a Forbes estimate
Sources: Chicago Breaking Business, USA Today, WCSH6, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WFAA, Forbes, NielsenWire, National Retail Federation
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