The first quarter of 2026 delivered something Downtown San Jose has been working toward for years: sustained momentum.
What began with the energy of Super Bowl LX in February carried through a busy March, creating a stretch of activity that brought visitors, demand, and vibrancy back to the urban core.
For Urban Catalyst, it was more than a strong quarter. It reflected how, when major events, infrastructure, and downtown destinations align, Downtown San Jose can support meaningful and concentrated activity across multiple weeks. It also demonstrated how strategically located assets within the Urban Catalyst portfolio are positioned to capture and benefit from that demand.
The Spark: Super Bowl LX Sets the Tone
The quarter’s momentum began with Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium, which drew more than 70,000 attendees along with tens of thousands of additional visitors to the region.
The event was widely reported to generate between $370 million and $630 million in economic impact, supported by an estimated 90,000 additional visitors traveling to the Bay Area. Hotels across the region experienced elevated occupancy and pricing, with demand extending beyond the immediate host city.
San Jose participated in that activity in a meaningful way. Throughout Super Bowl week, the city saw increased foot traffic, restaurant demand, and hotel utilization driven by visitors attending watch parties, activations, and related events.
From Urban Catalyst’s perspective, this reinforces a consistent theme. Well-located lodging and activated downtown environments are key to capturing regional demand during major events. Assets that are walkable to key destinations and embedded within an active urban core are best positioned to benefit from these types of surges in visitation.
Momentum Builds: NVIDIA GTC Reenergizes Downtown
That early momentum continued into March.
In mid-March, NVIDIA GTC brought approximately 30,000 attendees to Downtown San Jose, centered around the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
For several days, the downtown core experienced elevated daytime activity. Restaurants were consistently busy, sidewalks were active, and local businesses saw increased demand compared to typical post-pandemic baseline levels. During the conference week, demand across downtown was strong enough that several restaurants and entertainment venues reached capacity, with reservations fully booked during peak periods, and even members of the Urban Catalyst team were unable to secure reservations at venues such as Eos & Nyx and Urban Putt in our Paseo project.
Notably, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang also delivered a speech at Eos & Nyx, further highlighting Downtown San Jose as a setting for high-profile industry moments and reinforcing the growing relevance of these urban spaces as gathering points for business and culture.
For a downtown still rebuilding its convention-driven economy, the event served as a clear example of how large-scale conferences can generate concentrated foot traffic and spending within a defined area.
Urban Catalyst’s TownePlace Suites by Marriott San Jose Downtown played a direct role in supporting this demand by providing lodging within walking distance of the convention center and surrounding downtown amenities. The hotel was sold out on multiple nights during the first quarter, reflecting the strength of event-driven demand and underscoring how centrally located hospitality assets are critical to capturing and retaining visitors during peak periods.
The Finish: March Madness Closes Out the Quarter
The quarter concluded with another major draw as the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament arrived at the SAP Center.
The venue hosted Sweet 16 matchups, bringing national attention, teams, fans, and media to the area. Surrounding businesses benefited from continued activity, with restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues experiencing sustained demand.
Citywide programming, including events in areas such as San Pedro Square Market, helped extend that energy beyond the arena and into the broader downtown environment.
Built for This Kind of Quarter
While each of these events was significant on its own, the broader story is how they connected.
A strong February transitioned into a high-impact March. Downtown San Jose experienced a sustained period of demand supported by a series of major events.
This type of continuity is important for long-term downtown performance, particularly in markets where conventions and large-scale events contribute meaningfully to local economic activity.
Urban Catalyst’s projects are designed with this type of environment in mind.
A centrally located hotel supports both short-term event demand and longer-term business travel. Our Paseo project provides a walkable destination for dining and entertainment. Tenants such as Eos & Nyx and Urban Putt contribute experiential offerings that attract visitors and perform during peak demand periods.
Together, these elements help create a downtown experience where visitors can stay longer, explore more, and engage with multiple destinations within a compact urban core.
Looking Ahead: The World Cup Brings a Global Stage to the Bay Area
Following the momentum of Super Bowl LX, the Bay Area is preparing for another major international event in the summer of 2026.
The FIFA Men’s World Cup will bring matches to Levi’s Stadium, hosting teams and fans from around the world across multiple fixtures between June and July.
Unlike the Super Bowl, which concentrates activity into a single city over a short period, the World Cup spans multiple host cities and several weeks, with teams and supporters traveling throughout the tournament. As a result, the Bay Area is expected to experience a more extended and distributed pattern of visitation.
While matches will be played in Santa Clara, San Jose is positioned to support and benefit from the influx of international visitors. City initiatives are focused on encouraging attendees to spend time downtown through public programming, including watch parties, outdoor events, and community activations planned during match days.
Downtown San Jose will serve as a major gathering point for FIFA World Cup fans through a citywide “Soccer Celebration” centered at San Pedro Square Market. The festival will feature live broadcasts of all matches, fan zones, themed food and beverage offerings, and family-friendly programming designed to activate the urban core throughout the tournament.
The scale of the event is expected to be significant, with projections of more than $555 million in economic activity and about 260,000 visitors to the region. Building on the momentum of recent large-scale events, the World Cup represents another opportunity for Downtown San Jose to demonstrate its ability to support sustained, experience-driven activity and welcome a global audience.
With its diverse population and established role as a cultural and economic hub in the South Bay, San Jose is well-positioned to engage with the global audience the World Cup brings to the region.
For Downtown San Jose, the tournament represents another opportunity to demonstrate how walkable districts, hospitality assets, and experiential tenants can help support and benefit from sustained event-driven demand.
Important Disclosures
The contents of this communication: (i) do not constitute an offer of securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, (ii) offers can be made only by the confidential Private Placement Memorandum (the “PPM”) which is available upon request, (iii) do not and cannot replace the PPM and is qualified in its entirety by the PPM, and (iv) may not be relied upon in making an investment decision related to any investment offering by an issuer, or any affiliate, or partner thereof ("Issuer").
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With respect to any performance levels outlined herein, these do not constitute a promise of performance, nor is there any assurance that the investment objectives of any program will be attained. All investments carry the risk of loss of some or all of the principal invested. Assumptions are more fully outlined in the Offering Documents/ PPM for the respective offering. Consult the PPM for investment conditions, risk factors, minimum requirements, fees and expenses and other pertinent information with respect to any investment.
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Past performance are no guarantee of future results. All information is subject to change. You should always consult a tax professional prior to investing. Investment offerings and investment decisions may only be made on the basis of a confidential private placement memorandum issued by Issuer, or one of its partner/issuers. Issuer does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein. Thank you for your cooperation.
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- Potential for property value loss – All real estate investments have the potential to lose value during the life of the investments;
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Opportunity Zone Disclosures
- Investing in opportunity zones is speculative. Opportunity zones are newly formed entities with no operating history. There is no assurance of investment return, property appreciation, or profits. The ability to resell the fund’s underlying investment properties or businesses is not guaranteed. Investing in opportunity zone funds may involve a higher level of risk than investing in other established real estate offerings.
- Long-term investment. Opportunity zone funds have illiquid underlying investments that may not be easy to sell and the return of capital and realization of gains, if any, from an investment will generally occur only upon the partial or complete disposition or refinancing of such investments.
- Limited secondary market for redemption. Although secondary markets may provide a liquidity option in limited circumstances, the amount you will receive typically is discounted to current valuations.
- Difficult valuation assessment. The portfolio holdings in opportunity zone funds may be difficult to value because financial markets or exchanges do not usually quote or trade the holdings. As such, market prices for most of a fund’s holdings will not be readily available.
- Capital call default consequences. Meeting capital calls to provide managers with the pledged capital is a contractual obligation of each investor. Failure to meet this requirement in a timely manner could elicit significant adverse consequences, including, without limitation, the forfeiture of your interest in the fund.
- Opportunity zone funds may use leverage in connection with certain investments or participate in investments with highly leveraged capital structures. Leverage involves a high degree of financial risk and may increase the exposure of such investments to factors such as rising interest rates, downturns in the economy or deterioration in the condition of the assets underlying such investments.
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