Mahwah Chamber Already Prepping for Super Bowl 2014

Mahwah’s Regional Chamber of Commerce is already preparing for the 2014 Super Bowl. The game will be historic. It’s the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl ever, and it’s coming to Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford next winter.

Although there are over 230 days left until the big game, neither team in the team has been determined yet, and the football season hasn’t even started, the Chamber said Mahwah has been prepping for the game for a few weeks.

But, it’s not necessarily the local businesses looking for an influx of visitors thanks to the game, MRCC reps say. Instead, the group is planning a local event that they say will help residents celebrate the spirit of the historic game.

“We’re not right across the street [from Metlife],” MRCC President Martha Harvey, of Sharp Electronics, told Patch. “We don’t think thousands of people are going to traipse up here to….shop, eat, and go to events. But, we did come up with a unique way to be a part of the [Super Bowl].”

On January 22, 2014 – less than two weeks before the game – the Chamber will host the Super Community Spirit Showcase, a Super Bowl Host Committee-sanctioned event that organizers say will promote the Super Bowl’s spirit of teamwork while celebrating area non-profit organizations.

The showcase is like the Chamber’s Annual Spirit Showcase, but on a much bigger scale, MRCC Executive Director Sharon Rounds said.

“We want to showcase all non-profits in the greater Bergen County region,” she said. “We are hoping to have 100 local non-profits represented.”

Each organization will have a table to show off to guests of the event what it does. And, the non-profits will be encouraged to bring their supporters to the event.

“Throughout the night, attendees will be asked to vote for one non-profit,” Harvey explained. “The one that gets the most votes will get the net proceeds from the night.”

Since the MRCC is planning to have over 1,000 people at the event, the winning non-profit, “can walk away with a pretty sizable donation,” she said.

The entire event is centered around teamwork, a theme that organizers said prompted them to create something for area non-profits.

“It is historic to have the Super Bowl here, so of course we wanted to be a part of that,” Harvey said. “Football is all about teamwork, so we wanted to offer an experience that relates to that, and emphasizes our own community and team spirit. Plus, it’s a great way to give [local non-profits] good exposure.”

And, the event will likely have a lot more football connections, too. Organizers say attendees can expect a football memorabilia auction, and football players and coaches at the event.

The group is also planning to get local high school football players in on the action, to meet their professional counterparts.

Since the event, and the Super Bowl, are months away, the MRCC says it’s still planning out all of the exact details. But, it’s asking locals to save the date, and any businesses interested in sponsoring the event to contact the Chamber at 201-529-5566.

Over the next few months, the MRCC says it expects to get a lot of buzz building around the event.

“It really is a way to take [the Super Bowl] and make it our own,” Harvey said.

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