Should Seattle get shot at hosting Super Bowl?
Sep 5, 2014, 1:31 PM | Updated: 3:30 pm
After a night in the NFL’s spotlight, talk is again turning to the possibility of Seattle one day hosting a Super Bowl.
“Seattle should be in the mix,” said veteran NBC broadcaster Al Michaels in an interview on the Seahawks pregame show with Dori Monson Thursday.
The big game used to be played exclusively in warm-weather locations like Miami, New Orleans and Phoenix, or cities with domed stadiums like Detroit – which hosted Super Bowl XL featuring the Seahawks and Steelers in 2006.
But Super Bowl XLVIII in New York/New Jersey earlier this year proved the Super Bowl could be a success in colder weather with open air stadiums.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seems open to the idea, telling reporters at his annual Super Bowl news conference before the big game that the league was open to awarding the Super Bowl to other cold-weather cities like Seattle.
“I believe we need to get to as many communities as possible and give them the opportunity to share not only in the emotional benefits, but the economic benefits,” Goodell said.
Michaels agreed.
“So you can play these games in sites that aren’t going to have sunshine all week long and 65-85 degree temperatures,” he said.
Weather is only one consideration. Michaels said while Seattle would be an appealing destination even in rainy weather, the competition is fierce. He said the league is using the big game as a bargaining chip to get cities to build new stadiums.
“The problem you’re going to have is that with all these teams building stadiums, the league almost feels compelled to give a game to that city.”
Two of the next three Super Bowls will be held in new stadiums. The 2016 game will be played at the 49ers’ new home in Santa Clara, Calif., while the league awarded the 2018 Super Bowl to Minneapolis, which is scheduled to open its new stadium in 2016.
A large delegation of Seattle travel and business leaders visited the Super Bowl in February to see what it would take to make a successful bid for the big game. The earliest Seattle could host a game is 2019.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
