Super Bowl XLVII: Superdome Goes Dark for 33 Minutes

At 7:37 p.m. CT, the lights flicked off on the side of the stadium where the San Francisco 49ers bench, TV and radio booths and press box are located. CBS' broadcast was briefly knocked off the air, and all of the video boards in the stadium went dark. Full power was not restored until 7:58 p.m., and play resumed at 8:10 p.m.

"Stadium authorities are investigating the cause of the power outage," the NFL said in a statement. A league spokesman declined further comment.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu called the power outage "an unfortunate moment in what has been an otherwise shining Super Bowl week for the city of New Orleans."

"In the coming days, I expect a full after action report from all parties involved. For us, the Super Bowl isn't over until the last visitor leaves town, so we're focused on continuing to show our visitors a good time."

Play was suspended following a 6-yard sack of San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and players retreated to their bench areas during the delay. San Francisco players milled about calmly while players from Baltimore -- leading 28-6 -- sat on the turf to stretch their legs. Several Ravens players tossed a football back and forth.

Fans, meanwhile, entertained themselves by chanting and singing, including multiple renditions of Baltimore's rally song Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. Some fans tried to start the wave, and booed when the wave stopped on the far side of the stadium.

A few blocks away in the French Quarter, the power remained on the whole time. Fans watched TVs in restaurants and bars in stunned disbelief as the game came to a halt while the Superdome regained power.

Renee Mendoza, a 49ers fan from San Jose, Calif., watched from a table at the Royal House Oyster Bar. Her husband, Ray, who was at the game, was texting her updates and pictures from inside the Superdome during the blackout. She said she hoped the outage would slow the Ravens' momentum.

"Hopefully it'll throw the Ravens off and the 49ers will get their head back in the game," Mendoza, 49, said. It did. After the power came back on, San Francisco began a comeback.

After Beyonce's halftime set concluded, but before the second half began, a fire alarm went off in the press box in a hallway in the upper level of the stadium, between the Ravens' coaches booth and a radio broadcast booth. The alarm resumed its chirping when power was restored and was not turned off for another six minutes.

The outage caused multiple problems in the stadium. Radio communication was at least temporarily lost between the AFC coaches booth and the sideline. An elevator went out of service, and air conditioning and Internet service were lost.

CBS was able to power up its set on the far side of the stadium, just past the Baltimore bench in order to broadcast updates during the outage.