2026 is set to be a big year for sports in the Bay Area. In February, Santa Clara’s Levi Stadium is slated to host the Super Bowl, which is expected to cost the city an estimated $6.3 million. Later in the year, six FIFA World Cup games are scheduled to take place at the stadium. Those games, while costly, promise to draw tens of thousands of fans to the region, with tourism dollars close behind.

Now, the Bay Area Host Committee, the local nonprofit hosting the games, is doubling down. 

Country singer Chris Stapleton is set to play the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 7, the day before the Super Bowl. Songwriter Sierra Ferrell is slated to appear as a special guest. It’s the first event in a series organized by the committee, called BAHC Live, which “will present world-class concerts, fan zones, festivals, and watch parties” timed around local sporting events, according to a news release. 

The concert series will benefit Tipping Point Community, the antipoverty nonprofit founded by Mayor Daniel Lurie. (Lurie stepped down as CEO in 2019.) BAHC Live will announce more events soon. 

Stapleton, who emerged from the Nashville country scene, has enjoyed both commercial and critical success for his music, which weaves together influences from soul, country and bluegrass. The singer has won 11 Grammy awards, and in 2023, he headlined Stagecoach Festival.

Ferrell, who sharpened her craft as a longtime busker, has emerged in recent years as a fresh voice in roots music. This year, her latest effort “Trail of Flowers” won the Grammy for Best Americana Album. She played Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in 2021.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — People rallied in San Francisco on Sunday in support of three elderly residents who are facing eviction from their rent-controlled apartments. The community protest was an opportunity to stand up for seniors on fixed incomes and tenants’ rights across the city.

Dozens of tenants’ rights advocates marched through Noe Valley in San Francisco at the front steps of a Victorian apartment house where three seniors are now facing eviction.

“If you’ve ever been displaced, you know the profound toll having your housing under threat takes on you,” said one advocate speaker.

“I’m so impressed they’re doing this for us,” said tenant Brian Harrington.

Harrington was surprised to see the protest rally out front. He said he and his two longtime roommates have health issues. One has lived there since 1977. All of them are being evicted by their landlord.

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“We’re in serious trouble, because I’m 69. I’m the youngest one. I just went through my 11th heart surgery and these guys are seven years older than me, my roommates. Where are we going to go?,” Harrington said.

Harrington says, he and his roommates have been quiet tenants and paid rent on time.

“She just wants to make triple the amount of money. It’s just that simple,” Harrington said.

Advocates from Tenant and Neighborhood Councils, which support renters, are trying to stop the evictions. The group says the situation is not unusual in a city where the cost of living can be exorbitant, especially for those on a fixed income.

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“They’re facing eviction like many seniors in our city, honestly, at an attempt to get them out of their rent-controlled apartments, so the rent can go back to market rate,” said Eleanor Allen-Henderson from Tenant and Neighborhood Councils or TANC.

Advocates say a court hearing on the eviction is scheduled for next week in San Francisco.

A person who tenants identified as the owner of their building had no comment. ABC7 News also reached out to the landlord’s attorneys but have not heard back.

Advocates say they’ll to continue protest the eviction of the seniors.

“Seniors deserve to stay in their homes. We believe in a city where people are housed and safe,” Allen-Henderson said.