Meadowlands Super Bowl Could Benefit Pascack Valley Businesses

With downtown Westwood and other Pascack Valley communities just minutes away from Metlife Stadium — in the right traffic conditions — local business owners are hoping the Meadowlands Super Bowl next February could attract many customers to the area.

"Westwood has one of the most vibrant business districts in Bergen County," Mayor John Birkner said. "The whole Pascack Valley has a lot to offer."

The Super Bowl could draw 250,000 or more people to the region, according to Jim Kirkos of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce. In addition to those coming for the game itself, many corporations hold events and set up temporary offices in the area around the Super Bowl. Hotels in Woodcliff Lake, Montvale and Park Ridge are reportedly already booked solid for the week of the game.

The key for local communities is to hold events and make their amenities known in order to entice visitors and corporations to the area, according to Kirkos.

"You're not far away, so I think you have some interesting opportunities here," he said.

Some local communities, like Ridgewood, have already begun planning events to draw Super Bowl visitors.

Westwood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Joseph Abou-Daoud said they are setting up a committee to plan events and other strategies to draw visitors to the area.

"It's a tremendous opportunity, if done properly," Abou-Daoud said.

While many Super Bowl visitors may not ever return to the Pascack Valley after the game, successful events could mean other Bergen County residents will.

"It's absolutely mind-boggling that people in communities don't know what's just a couple of communities away," Kirkos said.

Birkner said he believed Westwood's public transportation, shops, restaurants and entertainment would make it a popular desitation for visitors.

"We've got the whole package, and it's about presenting that," Birkner said.

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