Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – The 60th Super Bowl Game, Super Bowl LX, is just 134 days away (as of this writing) and the Bay Area Host Committee, the organization charged with producing the events surrounding the game to be played at Levi’s Stadium, is hard at work making sure the entire San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose Bay Area is represented. But for Oakland, what does that mean? To date, no event has been announced to take place in Oakland either before the two-week Super Bowl Period, or during it. All of this was noted by the first person to bid for a Super Bowl Game for Oakland in 1999-2000, now Zennie62Meedia CEO, Zennie Abraham.
San Francisco is on a roll having hosted the 2025 NBA All Star Game, awaiting The 2026 World Cup, and preparing for Super Bowl LX next year. In fact NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was just in San Francisco for the kickoff event last week, and had the pleasure of meeting former Congresswoman and new Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. But did Oakland have an event idea to present for the NFL to consider? No.
So Zennie Abraham – Oakland Vlogger and Las Vegas Vlogger and NFL Vlogger who created Zennie62 YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@zennie62 as well as, CEO of Zennie62Media, Inc. and the creator of OaklandNewsOnline.com and ZennieReport.com and NFLNewsbyZennie62.com, to name three of the 100 news websites his firm owns – says the NFL and The Bay Area Host Committee should bring at least one major event to Oakland and help Mayor Lee. Zennie’s idea is for something called “Jack London’s NFL Playland.”
An Event For Super Bowl LX 2026 From Oakland’s Bid to Host The 2005 Super Bowl
Zennie believes that Oakland’s not taking bold steps to improve a subpar economic condition. To help remedy this, he wants the NFL and The Bay Area Host Committee to bring a major Super Bowl LX-related event to Oakland. His idea is to resurrect the plan for something called “Jack London’s NFL Playland” at Jack London Square land owned by the Port of Oakland.
“The idea for Super Bowl City really started with me, Zennie Abraham as head of the Super Bowl Oakland Bid for Super Bowl XXXIX in 2000 for the 2005 Game. I came up with the idea of something called Jack London’s NFL Playland,”, Abraham said.
And yes, Zennie Abraham did come up with the name Jack London’s NFL Playland, as well. In Jack London’s NFL Playland, the idea was to have something that caused people to come to Oakland and not be in San Francisco for the entire two week Super Bowl period, even though Oakland would have been the host city had it won the competition that was earned by Jacksonville.
Zennie says “The name “Jack London’s NFL Playland” came from the site to be used: Jack London Square at the Port of Oakland. Jack London’s NFL Playland itself was envisioned to be defined by a fenced boundary around Jack London Square. Within it would be a combination of music concert stages and ‘Taste of Oakland’ pavilions. as well as an auction of Oakland Raiders memorabilia” he said. The entry fee was planned to be $30. Jack London’s NFL Playland would be built for the two week Super Bowl Period and then dismantled. While Oakland lost the 2005 Super Bowl Competition, the idea of Jack London’s NFL Playland remained. And that became the “Super Bowl City” concept, according to Abraham.
Abraham said A “Super Bowl City” was created for the 2004 Super Bowl, Jacksonville has one downtown for the 2005 game, and Detroit had its much larger version, taking up over 30 blocks of that city’s downtown area. Abraham said “The idea was in our bid book, but not Jacksonville’s, originally. Remember, our bid book for the 2005 Super Bowl was submitted in 1999, so there was a lot of time for others to copy from it.”
How Would Jack London’s NFL Playland Be Paid For? Abraham Says Argent Materials, An Oakland Clean Tech Business, Is A Good Example Of Local Firms That Help The Community
Argent Materials says it’s “Oakland Proud” and a “Clean Tech Firm” that’s deeply connected to the Oakland and Alameda County community. Argent Materials does actively support local nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and community initiatives. Argent Materials says its commitment to Oakland goes beyond business—it strives to grow alongside the community it serves.
And while firms like Argent Materials help build Jack London’s NFL Playland, Oakland Restaurants would benefit from Jack London’s NFL Playland in operation. There would be no entry fee for Oakland restaurants, just a first-contact, first-response sign up system that could be run by Visit Oakland. Since Visit Oakland is responsible for Oakland Restaurant Week, that organization may have its own ideas of how this should be done.
Jack London’s NFL Playland Will Feature Oakland Restaurants And Bands
The main intention in the production of Jack London’s NFL Playland is to have Oakland restaurants like The Alley Cat Bar, ACRE Kitchen & Bar, ChefSmelly, Town Fare, Burdell, Joloff Kitchen, The Lake Chalet, Agave Uptown, and 5 Spiced Kitchen, and many more at Jack London’s NFL Playland for Super Bowl LX.
Finally, the multiple music stages will serve as a place for Oakland-based bands to play. Bands and performers like Small Crush, Praying, YSEULDE, False Figure, Trauma Chain, GALL, Ex-Heir, Bruja, Altar de Fey, Abstracter, and John Brothers Piano Company would take their turns on the stages at Jack London’s NFL Playland for Super Bowl LX.
If Jack London’s NFL Playland for Super Bowl LX is actually built, it can reset Oakland’s place in NFL history and set a course toward the eventual return of the National Football League to Oakland.
“The problem Oakland faces is that it has sports facilities capable of hosting major league games in a variety of sports, and has the history that shows it has done that. But now those buildings are mostly not used, and the City of Oakland is waiting to see the plans for the future of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex from the African American Sports and Entertainment Group also known as “AASEG”, but that has not happened,” Abraham said, “although I am confident it will.”
Then Abraham said “But Oakland has to prove it has the credibility, certainty, and capacity to do big sports event projects on a regular basis. It needs to do Jack London’s NFL Playland and it needs to establish an Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission, like the one I created.”
Abraham informs us that the only reason that Oakland-Alameda County Sports Commission does not exist is because then-Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown fired Zennie after Abraham wrote an email to his board accusing then-Mayor Brown of racism. Abraham was upset upon learning that Brown was working behind his back and with plans he created, but never asked Zennie to present them to the Oakland business people he was meeting with. “He and others did not understand my corporate sponsorship plan, even as then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue did, and Mike Lynch, who was the head of Global Sponsorships for VISA,” Zennie said. “But it is a big example of the kind of petty politics that has stopped a number of efforts to build sports venues for the Oakland A’s, Oakland Raiders, and Golden State Warriors. Now, they’re all gone” Zennie said.