Super Bowl Host City Sued Over ‘Clean Zone’ 

Phoenix wants to project a clean image when it hosts Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, but a resident is pushing back.

The city is being sued by resident Bramley Paulin, who owns two pieces of property in the city’s downtown area, and has been unable to lease out temporary signage space due to the local restrictions, according to the Goldwater Institute, the firm representing him.

• Phoenix has instituted a “clean zone” ordinance over certain areas in the leadup to the Big Game, which requires residents and businesses to receive approval for signage.
• The city has said that signs showing the logos of Super Bowl sponsor competitors or that make unlicensed use of the Super Bowl LVII trademark will be denied. Sponsors include Apple Music, Bud Light, and Lowe’s.
• Phoenix has pointed out that clean-zone policies are common around major sporting events.

Paulin is challenging the ordinance on First Amendment grounds. 

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| by Owen Poindexter

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Record Price for 30 Seconds

Fox, which will broadcast this year’s Super Bowl, said in September that it had sold 95% of its ad inventory, charging a record $7 million for a 30-second spot.

Matt Voda, CEO of marketing analyst OptiMine, told Front Office Sports that Super Bowl ads can be a good buy for large, consumer product brands, but some may be better off with more targeted spending.

“Six million [dollars] goes a long way across a lot of other channels, and you might be able to get reach that exceeds that [of a Super Bowl ad],” he said, referring to the approximate price charged last year by NBC.