Super Bowl LI XXXVIII in 2004, which also featured the New England Patriots against that season's NFC South champion Carolina Panthers. It was also the third time the Super Bowl has been played in Houston, with Super Bowl VIII in 1974 having been held at Rice Stadium. With the Astros baseball team reaching the World Series eight months later, Houston would become just the fourth city to host both the Super Bowl and Fall Classic in the same calendar year, following San Diego (1998), Detroit (2006) and Arlington, Texas (2011); and the first among the four to win the Major League Baseball championship.
Super Bowl 50 the first time, the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee and the NFL openly sought businesses owned by the LGBT community and disabled veterans for Business Connect, a program that provides local companies with contracting opportunities in and around the Super Bowl. The game's media day, which was typically held on the Tuesday afternoon prior to the game, was moved to the Monday evening and re-branded as "Super Bowl Opening Night". The event was held on February 1, 2016 at SAP Center in San Jose. Alongside the traditional media availabilities, the event featured an opening ceremony with player introductions on a