In December, the Vikings broke ground on a new stadium, scheduled to open in 2016. (Jim Mone/AP)
The NFL will decide the host city for the 2018 Super Bowl next month when team owners meet in Atlanta from May 19-21. The Indianapolis Colts are one of the teams who will be fighting to host the big game, while the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings submitted their final bids this week.
For Minnesota, the opportunity to host a Super Bowl in Minneapolis will bring in revenue and a boost to the local economy while showcasing the new stadium the Vikings plan to open in 2016.
“The prospect of over 100,000 visitors coming to Minnesota to enjoy the weeklong Super Bowl experience — during January-February, which is not our typical tourist season — occupying our hotels and filling our restaurants, transportation, and shopping areas, will provide significant benefits to Minnesota,” Governor Mark Dayton said, via the Star Tribune.
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New Orleans is hoping to host the game yet again, but it will have tough competition with the other cities that are in the mix.
“It’s an extremely competitive process,” said Jay Cicero, the president/CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, via nola.com. “Minnesota has a new stadium, and Indianapolis has its own desire to get the game back. The competition to host the Super Bowl increases every year.”
League officials will review the bids over the next few weeks before determining who will be granted the privilege of hosting the NFL’s championship game.
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If New Orleans wins the bid, the city would be a Super Bowl host for a record 11th time. Minnesota hosted Super Bowl XXVI at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in 1992.
The next three Super Bowls will be held in Glendale, Ariz., San Francisco and Houston, respectively.
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