The city of New Orleans has not seen its last Super Bowl.
It has seen its tenth, a record-tying number (only the Miami area has hosted that many Big Games). Furthermore, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome has now hosted a record seven Super Bowls, and one 34-minute blackout isn’t going to stop the NFL from bringing their championship game back to a city so rich with history, culture and, let’s face it, a party mentality. A power surge, or worse, can happen at any stadium; that’s why every entertainment venue has a crisis team.
However, New Orleans is part of a current Super Bowl-hosting rotation of sorts that’s beginning to get tiresome. Miami, New Orleans, and Tampa Bay have each hosted two Super Bowls since 2001, the other years punctuated by cities christening new stadium. The league has started adding a little variety by awarding next year’s game to the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, the first cold-weather host region with an outdoor stadium. Phoenix/Glendale will host Super Bowl XLIX in 2015. Here are five more cities with reason enough to be awarded a Super Bowl sometime between games L-LIX (50-59).
Minneapolis
Ever since the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome roof collapsed under heavy snow, we had known that the Minnesota Vikings would be getting a new stadium eventually. And it’s true: Ground will break on the New Vikings Stadium this October, and it’s slated to open in 2016. Detroit and Indianapolis have proved in the past that cold-weather cities with domes can host Super Bowls just as successfully as warm-weather cities can. Minneapolis has proved it before too: The Metrodome hosted Super Bowl XXVI in January 1992 (the Washington Redskins beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-24). It was the second-lowest Super Bowl attendance in history, after Super Bowl I, but if a brand-new stadium is playing host, the game will undoubtedly be a success.
Another city that falls into the “new stadium equals Super Bowl” category, the San Francisco 49ers will be moving to the new Santa Clara Stadium in 2014. It was announced recently that Candlestick Park will be demolished soon after the Niners play their last home game of the 2013 season. The stadium and Sun Life Stadium in Miami are the two finalists vying to be awarded Super Bowl L; the runner-up will compete with Houston’s Reliant Stadium for Super Bowl LI. Even if Santa Clara Stadium inexplicably loses both of those bids, they’ll be awarded a Super Bowl shortly after. The San Francisco Bay Area has only hosted a Super Bowl once before, Super Bowl XIX in 1985 at Stanford Stadium (a veritable home game for Joe Montana and Jerry Rice as the Niners went on to beat Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins, 38-16).
Atlanta
The Georgia Dome hosted Super Bowls XXVIII and XXXIV, but by the time Atlanta wins another bid, the Falcons may have a new downtown, open-air stadium built for the occasion. The plan for this new stadium has been approved; the exact location is still being discussed and decided upon. It could potentially be built and operating by the 2017 NFL season. This again falls into the new stadium category of reasons for a city to receive a Super Bowl. However, even if this plan were to fall through and the Falcons stayed in the Georgia Dome, I still think Atlanta should get another Super Bowl in the near future. The dome has hosted not only the two aforementioned Super Bowls, but also has been long-time hosts of the SEC Football Championship Game and the Chick-fil-A Bowl, in addition to hosting several NCAA men’s and women’s Final Fours, as well as the upcoming 2013 NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Charlotte is the only city on this list to have never hosted a Super Bowl before, which is mostly because it has only had an NFL team since 1995. Charlotte’s average February high temperature is 55 degrees. Compare that with East Rutherford, New Jersey, and its February high of 41. It wouldn’t be a warm-weather game, but it wouldn’t be a cold-weather game – call it a cool-weather game. Beyond that, Charlotte is the fastest-growing big city in America, and is now considered the second-largest financial center in the country after New York. Bank of America is headquartered in the city, and happens to hold naming rights to the Panthers’ stadium. Bank of America Stadium has the seating capacity required (70,000 seats) to host a Super Bowl. It may be the longest shot on this list, but in five to ten years, I think Charlotte could pull it off, if given the chance.
Los Angeles
Why wait till the city gets an NFL team again? L.A. has a new stadium coming, Farmers Field. It won’t be built in time for 2016 to host the 50th Anniversary of the Super Bowl, sadly, which would have made sense because the city hosted Super Bowl I in 1967. (As mentioned before, the game will be awarded this May to either San Francisco/Santa Clara or Miami). But as soon as the stadium is ready, before even transferring a team out west, get a Super Bowl in there! The second-largest city and second-largest media market in the country can do a Big Game right – they’ve hosted seven Super Bowls, but none since 1993. L.A. can put a Hollywood spin on the Super Bowl, which is really a week-long party as it is.
