Sports Illustrated The Party Presented by DraftKings is headed to the Bay Area ahead of the 2026 Super Bowl, taking place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8. The Party is set to take place the day before, on Feb. 7, at Cow Palace in San Francisco.
Held each year during Big Game Weekend, SI The Party has become a staple on the Super Bowl social calendar, regularly drawing athletes, celebrities and industry figures from across sports and entertainment. The event is hosted by Sports Illustrated and DraftKings and produced by Authentic Live and Medium Rare.
This year’s edition is backed by a slate of major sponsors, including Anheuser-Busch, Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies, Velocity Black, Verizon, CELSIUS, Nine West and Thomasville, with branded activations throughout the venue.
Each year, The Party also features multiple musical acts, with this year’s lineup providing a blend of electronic, hip-hop and open-format sounds. The night will be headlined by The Chainsmokers and Ludacris, with supporting performances by DJ Irie and Xandra.
The Chainsmokers, the electronic music duo comprised of Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, rose to prominence with their 2014 breakout hit “#SELFIE” and have since built a global fanbase, becoming one of the most recognizable acts in the genre. Ludacris, a multi-platinum hip-hop artist and actor, brings a catalog of chart-topping hits that have made him a fixture in both music and pop culture for more than two decades.
The event will also feature sets from renowned DJ, producer, and entrepreneur from St. Croix, DJ Irie, as well as rising global DJ Alexandra Pohl, known by her stagename Xandra, to round out the lineup, bringing open-format and electronic influences that are expected to keep the energy high throughout the night.
The venue, Cow Palace, is a landmark venue that has been providing the Bay Area with entertainment and community for over 80 years. The large space will have multiple VIP lounges to provide an exclusive area to relax between sets.
Throughout the venue, there will also be interactive installations from sponsors to allow guests to move through multiple activation zones that are designed to enhance their overall event experience.
Taking place the night before the 2026 Super Bowl, SI The Party Presented by DraftKings is set to be one of the marquee events of Big Game Weekend in the Bay Area.
