NFL Chooses Cities through Super Bowl LV in 2021
NFL owners voted Tuesday on the locations of Super Bowls LIII, LIV, and LV, continuing the longstanding tradition of awarding owners and cities for upgrading their stadiums. Super Bowl LIII in 2019 will be played in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Super Bowl LIV in 2020 will be played in Dolphins Stadium in South Beach, Florida (Miami), and Super Bowl LV in 2021 will take place in Inglewood, California (Los Angeles).
No big surprises there, I guess. Tampa Bay and New Orleans were the only other cities bidding for these three, and even though NOLA has consistently landed as the top city to host the big game and among the top cities in the United States to visit. But that’s fine. We all know Roger Goodell hates the New Orleans Saints, so that blackout gave him an out for at least 10 years.
But I digress. The Atlanta Falcons are opening the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017; the Miami Dolphins have $450 million in renovations coming to their stadium over the next few seasons, and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke is building the Taj Mahal of football stadiums in Inglewood for over $2 billion.
“From the owners’ standpoint, they want to show that it’s worthwhile,” said Kroenke on the tradition of rewarding investments in a team’s stadium with a Super Bowl. “These are large investments. I think they are telling the communities and the owners who stick their necks out that it’s worthwhile.”
Miami is no stranger to hosting the big game; however, L.A. and Atlanta have been out of the loop for some time. Los Angeles was the site of the first two Super Bowls and will finally be back in the rotation 50 years later. Atlanta, on the other hand, was hit by a massive ice storm the week of the championship game, ruining the festivities.
“When you look at the law of probability, its one out of 100,” said Falcons owner Arthur Blank on the odds of another such disaster. “It’s been 16 years since the last one, so we’ve got another 84 years.”
Seems legit.