Super Bowl 52: ESPN Announces Its Broadcast Hub In Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — ESPN has selected the IDS Center’s Crystal Court as its production headquarters for Super Bowl LII. Located in downtown Minneapolis less than a mile from U.S. Bank Stadium, ESPN’s flagship shows will broadcast live from the “indoor urban park” beginning Wednesday, Jan. 31.

“The IDS Center’s Crystal Court puts ESPN in the center of all the action and excitement during Super Bowl week,” said Seth Markman, senior coordinating producer in charge of ESPN’s Super Bowl week coverage and NFL studio shows, in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming fans to our indoor set and capturing the sights and sounds of the Bold North for our viewers at home. We also thank the Minnesota Host Committee for its hospitality and helping us identify such an ideal location.”

ESPN’s anticipated program lineup includes daily editions of SportsCenter and NFL Live as well as the Super Bowl Sunday edition of Postseason NFL Countdown with former Vikings wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Fame nominee Randy Moss and fellow commentators Matt Hasselbeck, Chris Mortensen, Sam Ponder, Louis Riddick, Rex Ryan, Adam Schefter and Charles Woodson.

Additionally, ESPN Radio’s Golic and Wingo and ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio and ESPN International programs are also expected to originate live from Minneapolis.

ESPN shows will be open for public viewing and free of charge, and many will include guest stars from the sports and entertainment industries, according to a news release. Programming schedules will be announced at a later date.

No stranger to a national television audience, The IDS Center was made famous in the early 1970s when it appeared in the open of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The Crystal Court also previously hosted ESPN Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Vitale and others when they covered the 2001 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four.

ESPN’s Super Bowl week programming will be part of Super Bowl LIVE, which opens daily starting on Friday, Jan. 26, at 4 p.m. through game day on Sunday, Feb. 4.

The free, 10-day festival will include nods to winter that showcase Minnesota's northern culture. It will stretch six blocks on Nicollet Mall, from South 12th Street to South 6th Street, with each block offering Super Bowl-related opportunities.

Fans will see larger-than-life ice sculptures, national broadcast sets, and the Verizon Up Stage at Ice Mountain, where both local and national acts will perform throughout the free 10-day festival.

Photo credit: Senior coordinating producer Seth Markman, from left, host Sam Ponder and Rex Ryan, football analyst and former NFL coach, participate in "Sunday NFL Countdown" panel during the ESPN Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton on Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)