San Francisco's east side to host biggest Super Bowl parties ahead of game day
As the San Francisco Bay Area gears up for a week of concerts, block parties, and Super Bowl festivities, an often-overlooked corner of the city will play host to some of the biggest events of the week.
NPU Live, the company behind The Midway and Portola Festival, is hosting several concerts and parties in one of the city's unique spaces, Pier 80.
The Pier is home to a 225,000-square-foot warehouse, which CEO Jordan Langer obtained permission from the city to operate as a part-time concert and festival space. Between Pier 80, The Midway, and a few other venues across the city, the company expects to host 90,000 people for Super Bowl related festivities the week before the game.
Langer said he's been proud to invest in the greater Dogpatch area, a neighborhood on the city's east side that has seen considerable growth over the past decade.
"There's times, often, that I would just come out here and sit right there and just look over this city and be so proud and grateful for the ability to do what we do here," Langer said.
This week, his company will attempt some of its most ambitious projects yet, including an album release party for EDM artist Illenium, and shows headlined by Calvin Harris, Diplo and T-Pain.
Langer noted that the typical Super Bowl events entail exclusive and secretive guest lists, with limited or no access to the public. This time, he said, he wanted to make sure everyone was included.
"(Super Bowl is) in our backyard. It's in San Francisco. It's here. Why should we not invite Bay Area residents to experience some of the glitz and glamour and all the crazy that Super Bowl has to offer," Langer said.
NPU Live has had ample experience hosting big events, including Portola Festival, which it debuted in partnership with Goldenvoice in 2022. That event hit a snag when residents across the bay in Alameda complained of loud bass and music.
After residents lodged complaints, NPU and Goldenvoice put new measures in place to mitigate and monitor noise.
District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton acknowledged that major investments in the Dogpatch and his district at large have brought some new attention to the area.
"We're excited about bringing people to this side of town, we're excited about the Super Bowl activities are going to do for the neighborhood of course, and just excited that people will get to see what we see and what we all know in that there are some hidden gems in San Francisco right here in the southeast sector of the city." Walton said.
The Dogpatch has seen its share of new businesses and growth. The Minnesota Street Project, a warehouse space that hosts galleries and events, opened in 2016. In 2020, the city debuted Crane Cove Park near Pier 70 along the waterfront. In 2025, the city opened up "middle income housing" at the Sophie Maxwell Building on Maryland Street.
Supervisor Walton pointed to the neighborhood as being one of the only areas in the city that could accommodate horizontal expansion and signaled that more development plans were in the works.
"We are having conversations about a hotel on the power station. We are having conversations about a hotel at Candlestick. You must remember we have the most space to build. And there are exciting things that are on the way."
In the meantime, Langer's team will be getting ready to host tens of thousands of people this week.
"You can expect fun. So, the thing that I truly love and the thing that makes me do this every single day is not the ROI, it's not the challenge of it, it's the fact that I am able to provide joy to millions of people throughout the year."
