The bids are in. There are three contenders for the 2018 Super Bowl.
In less than two weeks, we will know which lucky city gets to host the 2018 Super Bowl. The organizers in Indianapolis and Minneapolis held news conferences today to let the public know that they have formally submitted their bids to the NFL’s 32 team owners. The other contender is New Orleans.
The vote will come on May 20. Each contender is out making the case why their city should be the 2018 host.
The only warm weather city in the group is New Orleans, home to 10 Super Bowls, including the 2013 contest where the lights went out, causing a 34-minute delay and almost giving enough fuel to the San Francisco 49ers to mount a tremendous comeback against the Baltimore Ravens. The year 2018 will be a festive one for The Big Easy, as it marks the city’s 300th Anniversary. New Orleans organizers are hoping to tie-in the celebration with the Super Bowl.
Minneapolis also makes a good case. It’s obviously freezing in January in Minnesota, however, weather doesn’t seem to play as important a role in the deciding factor anymore. Last year’s Super Bowl was in New Jersey, in an outdoor stadium without a retractable roof. However, the Vikings will have a brand new indoor stadium in 2018, and the NFL likes big games in new, shiny, state of the art venues. The last time Minneapolis got to host the big game was in 1992.
Which brings us to our last contender, Indianapolis, another cold-weather city with an indoor stadium. Although they just hosted a Super Bowl in 2012, the game and week long media circus surrounding the event went off almost without a hitch. The main issue was not enough hotel rooms, however, Indy officials have claimed that the situation will be remedied with the addition of two large hotels in the downtown area.
Indy bid chairwoman Allison Melangton said, ”A lot of running the Super Bowl has to do with the execution. And no city in the country has done that better than this one (Indy), hands down.”
Organizers from each team are allowed 15 minutes to convince the 32 team owners why their city should win the bid. Then, the three team owners will each have five additional minutes. In exactly 12 days, we’ll know the location of the 2018 Super Bowl.
What do you think? Where should the 2018 Super Bowl take place?
Image via NFL, Facebook