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 XLVIII headquarters, Quest Diagnostics Training Center adjacent to MetLife Stadium. Since New York and New Jersey co-hosted the Super Bowl, pregame events took place in both states. The "Super Bowl Kickoff Spectacular" concert was held on January 27 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, headlined by Daughtry and featuring a fireworks show. Media Day took place on January 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Unlike previous Super Bowl games, the league did not organize its NFL Experience fan convention. Instead, an outdoor festival known as Super Bowl Boulevard was held along Broadway and Times Square in Manhattan from January