Philadelphia wants its chance to host cold weather Super Bowl

    Philadelphia Eagles officials are saying that if all goes well up in North Jersey this weekend, the team will put in a bid to host a future Super Bowl.

    I tracked down Eagles President Don Smolenski to ask him what constitutes things going well at MetLife Stadium, where the game time temperature is expected to be around 40 degrees at kickoff.

    Smolenski said ultimately that will be up to the league and its team owners to decide.

    “There are a lot of factors that go into the game,” he said. “There’s the availability of hotel rooms and accommodations for guests, accommodations for the media, creating the right experiences for the fans, security — and the weather. The are so many components that make up the Super Bowl, it’s more than just the game.”

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    Smolenski said the league will spend months after Sunday’s game reviewing how all those factors played out with the game — for the first time — being played at an outdoor stadium in a cold-weather city.

    Should the reviews come back positive, the Eagles will “likely” get in line to host a future Super Bowl, Smolenski said.

    The next three Super Bowls are already spoken for (by Arizona, San Francisco and Houston). Six cities are vying for the 2018 game.

    Smolenski sees no major obstacles blocking Philadelphia from making a strong bid to have the game played at Lincoln Financial Field, which is undergoing a $125 million face-lift.

    “The city has hosted major events — from Army-Navy games to the Republican National Convention — where you have an influx of visitors from all over the country,” he said. “It takes a community effort to bid for these kinds of events and I think we have a great community. We have iconic and historic buildings and locations for hosting events and parties. We have a great public transportation system, Amtrak, and an international airport. The city and region have so much to offer in terms of a being a centralized venue that could provide a great fan experience.”

     

     

     

     

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal