The Giants and Jets, which were part of the bid along with the New Meadowlands Stadium Co., beat out Tampa, Fla., and South Florida despite concerns about cold weather—the game is played in early February, according to the NFL's current schedule.
The three bidders each made 15-minute presentations to the 32 NFL owners at the Omni Mandalay in Irving, outside of Dallas. The South Florida delegation was eliminated in the first round of voting.
The NFL has chosen the new Meadowlands stadium as the location of the 2014 Super Bowl, making it the first cold-weather Super Bowl. New Yorkers weigh in on the choice.
"New York and New Jersey can handle anything that comes our way in terms of logistics, transportation and security. And the weather is not an issue. The weather would make the game even more interesting and more exciting," Giants' treasurer Jonathan Tisch, who was co-chairman of the bid committee, told reporters after making a presentation. "We are supremely confident that Super Bowl 2014 would be an amazing event and would get recognition around the world."
The New York/New Jersey bid was said to be the favorite because the Jets and Giants have recently built a $1.6 billion stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., that will make its debut for the coming NFL season. The pick was also said to be a way to pay respect to Wellington Mara, the late owner of the Giants whose foresight in the early days of the league allowed the NFL to become a dominant force in the U.S. sports world.
"If you look at the Giants going back to the Mara family in the mid-20s and then you look at the Jets being one of the first teams in the AFL, there is so much history in these two franchises," Mr. Tisch said.
The competing locales seemed resigned to the fact that New York/New Jersey had the strongest bid.
"We understand that there are politics involved in the process. But we're a long-term player," said Rodney Barretto, chairman of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee. "We feel we are a world class destination."
0 comments:
Post a Comment