New York, or in reality, New Jersey was awarded the 2014 Super Bowl. The game will be played at the New Meadowlands Stadium, a $1.6 billion facility in East Rutherford, N.J., which is the first non-domed, cold weather venue to host the big game.
It took four rounds of votes by NFL owners at the NFL Spring Meeting in Irving, Texas to finalize the deal — New York/New Jersey beat out Miami and Tampa, Fla. — but in the end, owners decided to reward the area for building a new stadium, just as they’ve done in awarding Super Bowls to Dallas, Detroit and Indianapolis in recent years.
During the process, the NFL waived a rule that said the game must be held in a warm weather city or a dome. Temperatures are typically in the 20s in New Jersey in early February.
The move could clear the way for other cold weather cities, like Green Bay, to host the game in the future and Green Bay has some definite positives as a candidate.
If tradition, a recently-renovated stadium (which could get bigger in the future), a great fan experience and top-notch amenities for players are something the NFL wants — and they are — then Green Bay should be in the mix.
Unfortunately, Green Bay being as small as it is, it also has a lot of negatives that other NFL cities don’t.
Even with Milwaukee and Appleton within range, hotel space would be an issue. So would a lack of practice facilities. The limited airport traffic could be a problem as well. Super Bowls also are events and there could be a shortage of venues to host the multitude of seminars and parties that accompany the game itself. Not to mention, the average temperature in Green Bay in February is around 20 degrees. And it snows. A lot.
The temperature is a moot point, since it’s likely going to be that cold in New Jersey in February 2014, but the city’s infrastructure, as well as that of the surrounding area, would be severely tested by an event like the Super Bowl.
And that’s to say nothing of the fringe activities that take place during Super Bowl weekend. I’m going to pretend we’re all intelligent adults here and go ahead and mention the three things other Super Bowl cities, like New York, have copious supplies of and are always in high demand — prostitutes, strip clubs and drugs.
While the NFL would probably love the idea of having a Super Bowl in Green Bay, it just doesn’t seem possible for the city to handle it.
Still, if we’re dreaming, I’m sure there would be more than a few pairs of wet panties in Wisconsin if the Super Bowl came to Green Bay. For the first time in the history of the big game, the Packers would have an opportunity for home-field advantage.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Come 2014, it will be nice to see the game played where it’s supposed to be played — outside, in the cold.
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