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San Francisco Wins Right To Host Super Bowl L
Taylor Price, 49ers.com
The 50th anniversary of the most prestigious game in professional sports will take place in the San Francisco Bay Area. Following a vote by 32 NFL owners on Tuesday, Super Bowl L will be played at Levi’s® Stadium, the future home of the San Francisco 49ers.
The San Francisco Super Bowl bid committee was selected over the South Florida committee to host the league’s championship game in 2016.
“Today’s vote is the culmination of hard work from a number of dedicated individuals,” 49ers CEO Jed York told 49ers.com moments after the big game was awarded to the Bay Area. “Our bid committee should be commended for putting together a proposal for NFL ownership that accurately depicted how memorable a Bay Area Super Bowl will be.”
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Levi’s® Stadium, set to open in 2014, will be the most technologically advanced venue to ever host a Super Bowl. It also figures to be the first cashless, ticketless venue with WiFi capability for 75,000 people in Super Bowl history.
The Super Bowl’s 50th anniversary game will return to the Bay Area for the first time since Super Bowl XIX, a 38-16 victory by the 49ers that was held at Stanford Stadium in 1985.
The 49ers still stand as the only team in league history to have won a Super Bowl in the same year their region hosted the championship game. Tuesday’s bid victory was another win for the Bay Area which continues to be one of the most prosperous sports regions in the nation.
NFL owners, along with commissioner Roger Goodell, filed into a boardroom in a Boston hotel to decide the fate of both Super Bowl L and Super Bowl LI with a secret ballot vote. Following a 15-minute presentation from the San Francisco and South Florida bid committees and five-minute presentations from the owner of the NFL team in each respective market, San Francisco’s bid was victorious over the South Florida region.
Once the votes were tabulated by NFL senior vice president of events Frank Supovitz, Goodell officially announced the Bay Area region’s victory on NFL Network.
The Bay Area’s bid committee, led by San Francisco philanthropist Daniel Lurie, spent countless hours on building the most attractive proposal since April of 2010, when the NFL’s Super Bowl Advisory Committee first announced the region’s eligibility to host the game. Lurie enlisted the Bay Area’s top figures in politics, business and philanthropy to serve on the bid committee, a group that may now be referred to as the “host committee.”
“The vision of a Bay Area Super Bowl is now a reality,” said 49ers President Gideon Yu, a member of the Super Bowl bid committee. “I am extremely proud to be working alongside such great leaders in our community on this bid. We are confident our region will see great economic prosperity by hosting the Super Bowl. The bid committee has committed to turn 25 percent of the funds it has raised back into the community.”
In 2016, Levi’s® Stadium will be in its third year of operation. The host stadium will stand as the embodiment of the region’s emphasis on technology and sustainability. Bay Area weather, culture and winning sports atmosphere were all key components in the bid committee’s Super Bowl selection.
The 49ers future home will also allow the NFL’s showcase game to highlight the best of West Coast. Super Bowl L will be the league’s first championship game in the state of California since San Diego hosted Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.
The long Super Bowl drought in California was not lost on York, who is eager to showcase the Bay Area region’s passion for the game to football fans all over the world.
“Even before breaking ground in April of 2012, the vision for Levi’s Stadium has always been to build a venue that showcases all that is special about the Bay Area,” York said. “Innovation, sustainability and fan experience are the pillars of which we designed and constructed this facility.
“We look forward to NFL fans from around the globe enjoying our region and our stadium, the likes of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.”
The 49ers future home will be the first professional football stadium to open with LEED certification, the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. The stadium’s infrastructure will also allow fans to enhance their in-game experience with personal devices (cell phones and tablets) and with an in-game mobile application currently in development by the team’s technology department.
In addition, Super Bowl L will benefit from the stadium’s sustainable vision. Home games at the stadium will be net zero to the power grid from the energy collected throughout the year. A green roof and solar energy design elements will also be the first of its kind in a Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl L announcement is just the beginning of great things to come for the future home of the San Francisco 49ers and the team’s CEO is eager to continue watching it all unfold.
“Every year, football fans celebrate this great game on Super Bowl Sunday,” York said. “Now, our region has a tremendous opportunity to be celebrated on an international stage, as we play host to the Super Bowl.”
NFL awards Super Bowl L to San Francisco, Super Bowl LI to Houston
NFL owners voted on Tuesday to award Super Bowl L to the San Francisco/Bay Area and Super Bowl LI to Houston, Texas.
The Bay Area last hosted a Super Bowl in 1985 and was considered the heavy favorite to receive the historic 50th Super Bowl as construction is well underway on a new $ 1.2 billion stadium in Santa Clara, 44 miles south of San Francisco. NFL owners had to decide between the Bay Area bid and one from Miami, which has played host to ten Super Bowls.
The bid from the Miami group was considered a long shot for Super Bowl L after the Florida state Legislature failed to vote on a bill that would have provided funding for much-needed renovations to Sun Life Stadium. As the losing bid on Super Bowl L, Miami also bid for Super Bowl LI, but the same stadium issues that doomed the bid for Super Bowl L sunk their hopes of beating out Houston for Super Bowl LI.
Houston has hosted two Super Bowls previously, the most recent being Super Bowl XXXVIII between the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots in 2004.
“Congratulations to San Francisco and Houston on Super Bowl L and LI,” Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement released by the team. “However, we don’t think there’s a better place in the country to host Super Bowl than right here in South Florida. I am grateful for the hard work and creative energy that the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee showed in their bid.
“Today’s decision doesn’t dampen our enthusiasm to pursue Super Bowls in the future, since we are steadfast in our belief that those games are good for the South Florida community.”
Both San Francisco and Houston were awarded Super Bowls on the first ballot, which means their bids received a “super majority”, i.e. 24 of the 32 votes, over the competing bid from Miami. If a new stadium does not materialize in South Florida, or if major improvements are not made to Sun Life Stadium, it might be very long time before the Super Bowl returns to the Miami area.
Next year’s Super Bowl will take place at MetLife Stadium, an open-air facility outside of New York City. If that game is a success, other cold-weather cities with outdoor venues could be viewed as possible host cities for future Super Bowls. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, one of the more powerful owners in the league, will be keeping a keen eye on the New York/New Jersey game.
“We would love one day to hold it here if it’s a good experience there,” Kraft said from Tuesday’s meeting in Boston, via Mike Rodak of ESPN Boston. “We’re looking forward to seeing this experience in New York and New Jersey.
“It would be great. I sort of like Boston/Providence (as a regional site for the event). This is where it all started. Right here.”
If cold weather cities do get the green light to bid on Super Bowls, cities with open-air stadiums like Boston/Providence, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Green Bay, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Denver and Seattle will enter the bidding process. Atlanta and Minneapolis are currently building new indoor stadiums and will certainly look to host a Super Bowl once those venues are completed. As the NFL looks to grow the game overseas, London could join the competition to host future Super Bowls, as could Los Angeles, if the league ever re-enters that huge market.
Dallas and Indianapolis showed in recent years that they’re fully capable of hosting a Super Bowl and could join the rotation of cities — Glendale, Arizona (who will host a fourth Super Bowl in 2015), Tampa (four Super Bowls) and New Orleans (ten Super Bowls) — to host the league’s biggest event. Miami and San Diego (which has hosted three Super Bowls) both belong in that rotation, but both will continue to be shut out until they resolve their stadium issues.
NFL owners to determine hosts of Super Bowl L, LI on Tuesday
NFL owners have gathered in Boston this week for their annual spring meetings. A focal point of this week’s meetings will be the announcement of the host cities for Super Bowl L and Super Bowl LI, votes on which will take place on Tuesday.
Owners will choose between presentations from South Florida and the San Francisco Bay Area for the 50th Super Bowl, which will be played in February 2016.
The Bay Area is the favorite to host Super Bowl L as construction is well underway on the San Francisco 49ers’ new $ 1.2 billion stadium in Santa Clara, located about 40 miles south of San Francisco. Completion of the new stadium, which has seating capacity of up to 75,000 and will be named Levi’s Stadium once a naming rights deal is approved, is expected in time for the 2014 season.
San Francisco hosted the Super Bowl in 1985 and was tentatively awarded Super Bowl XXXIII, but could not reach a deal to finance renovations to Candlestick Park and lost the right to host the game.
Meanwhile, the current bid out of South Florida is considered a long shot to host either Super Bowl after the Florida state legislature recently defeated a bill that would have granted public money for renovations to Sun Life Stadium.
A three-quarters majority, 24 of the 32 owners, are required on the first ballot Tuesday. If neither San Francisco or Miami receives 24 votes on the first ballot, then a simple majority would win on the subsequent ballot.
The losing bid will then compete with a presentation from Houston to host Super Bowl LI in February 2017. Houston has two Super Bowls, the latest being Super XXXVIII between the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots at Reliant Stadium in 2004. If San Francisco wins the bid to host Super Bowl L, Houston is considered the heavy favorite to host the following year.
Super Bowl XLVIII will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on Feb. 2, 2014. Super Bowl XLIX will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Two Florida cities — Tampa and Miami — were finalists in bids to host Super Bowls XLVIII and XLIX.
NFL To Announce Super Bowls L And LI Tuesday
NFL owners on Tuesday will award two Super Bowls – numbers 50 and 51 (that’s L and LI) in Boston.
At 12 pm Eastern, the bid committees from San Francisco, Miami and Houston will make their presentations to the NFL’s 32.
The NFL staff will then summarize the plans and the owners of the 49ers, Dolphins and Texans will each speak for five minutes.
at 1:30 pm each team will complete a secret ballot, first between San Francisco and Miami for the 50th Super Bowl, then between the loser and Houston for the 51st.
If the host area doesn’t get 75 percent of the votes, the owners will vote again and that vote only will require 17 votse to win.
At 2 pm Eastern the winners will be announced.
Bills QB Kevin Kolb says he’s there ‘to win a Super Bowl’
Kevin Kolb officially joined the Buffalo Bills on Monday, signing a two-year contract and stating that he’s in western New York to win a Super Bowl.
“I am here to win a Super Bowl. Period,” Kolb said during his introductory press conference. “There are very limited opportunities in this league. I have been lucky enough to have a few of them. Hopefully have another one here and plan on taking 100 percent care of that and making sure I do my part to play at the highest level.”
Kolb joins the Bills, who haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, after the previous two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Kolb’s stint in Arizona will likely be remembered more for his earnings ($ 20.5 million) and price to acquire (2012 second-round pick, cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) than his on-field performance. Kolb completed 58.5 percent of 436 pass attempts for 3,124 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, missing 17 games due to various injuries.
On Monday, Kolb addressed his injury history.
“Well honestly I think a lot of it is luck or fluky, but if it ever does happen again you still want to say, ‘I did everything I could possible to make sure’,” said Kolb. “So eating right, working right, 100 percent consistency off the field and being disciplined with certain habits. All of that comes full circle whenever you have been injured a couple times in a row. I am just going to cover all of my bases. You cannot help it if you go out there and break four ribs. We all know how that turned out. I am just going to make sure I do everything in my power to make sure I do everything I can.”
The Cardinals released Kolb to avoid paying a $ 2 million roster bonus on March 16. The quarterback was scheduled to earn $ 9 million in base salary and had a $ 500,000 workout bonus, which would have brought his 2013 cash compensation to $ 11.5 million. Kolb said that stuff “behind the scenes” were behind his release, which didn’t catch him totally by surprise.
“Without going into too much detail, I was not totally shocked when it happened because I’m an always plan for the worst and expect the best kind of guy,” Kolb said. “That is how we all should handle things, but there was a bit of surprise there when it happened. Even though a lot of arrows pointed in that direction. There were certain things being said that I tried to believe, but at the same time I tried to cover all my bases as well. That is about the best way to put it.”
According to a source with knowledge of Kolb’s two-year deal with the Bills, the quarterback is scheduled to earn $ 3 million in 2013.
Kolb received a $ 1 million signing bonus, which is the only portion of the contract that is guaranteed. Kolb is scheduled to earn $ 1.65 million in base salary, a $ 250,000 roster bonus and has a $ 100,000 workout bonus. Kolb’s first-year cap hit is $ 2.5 million, slightly higher than the $ 2.25 million cap hit of Tarvaris Jackson, who will be competing with Kolb for the starting job.
In 2014, Kolb is scheduled to earn $ 2 million in base salary with a $ 1 million roster bonus and $ 100,000 workout bonus. Though Kolb can earn an escalator to his 2014 salary, the base value of his contract with the Bills is $ 6.1 million.
Super Bowl Champion Ravens To Open Season On The Road
Apparently winning a Super Bowl did not earn the Ravens a lot of respect in their hometown.
Negotiations with MLB and the Orioles have fallen through and the Ravens will have to open the season on the road instead of hosting the Thursday night NFL opener.
The Orioles have a home game scheduled for 7PM that evening. While the Orioles front office reportedly offered to change their starting time, the Ravens concluded that having the two games on the same day would create logistical problems too great to overcome.
The teams play in different stadiums but share parking lots.
“The Ravens greatly appreciate the willingness of the Orioles to adjust the start of their game in an effort to make this sports spectacular happen. But, in the end, anticipated problems with parking, rush-hour traffic, plus crowd and car congestion around Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium, will keep the doubleheader from taking place” according to Ravens team president Dick Cass.
Downtown Baltimore will end up being a double loser if the Orioles get rained out that night.
Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens will open on the road in 2013
The 2013 Major League Baseball season begins in a few weeks, but the Baltimore Orioles are already 1-0 after scoring a win over the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football League, who announced on Friday that the Ravens will open their 2013 season on the road.
Since 2002, the winner of the Super Bowl has opened up the following regular season by hosting a prime time game on Thursday or, in the case of 2012, Wednesday night. The Ravens’ ability to defend their title in similar fashion was in jeopardy as on Sept. 5, the Orioles are scheduled to host the Chicago White Sox at 7:05 p.m. ET in a game played at Camden Yards, which shares a parking lot with nearby M&T Bank Stadium.
The league previously ruled out playing another Wednesday night game, which was done last season to avoid a conflict with President Barack Obama’s speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, as Sept. 4 is the start of Rosh Hashanah. The league had explored having the Orioles move the start time of their game that night up, with the NFL pushing the start of the Ravens game to later in the evening, but ultimately the decision was made to have the Ravens open on the road.
“After thorough discussions among the Orioles, the NFL and the Ravens, it became clear that holding both an Orioles’ game and the Ravens’ regular season opener on the same day would create logistical situations that would cause serious issues for the city of Baltimore, and fans for both teams,” Ravens president Dick Cass said in a statement released by the team.
“The Ravens greatly appreciate the willingness of the Orioles to adjust the start of their game in an effort to make this sports spectacular happen. But, in the end, anticipated problems with parking, rush-hour traffic, plus crowd and car congestion around Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium, will keep the doubleheader from taking place.”
Including their three rivals in the AFC North (Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh), the Ravens will face the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos on the road this season. The obvious opponent would be the Broncos, who the Ravens beat in double overtime to advance to the 2012 AFC championship game.
A Super Bowl in Philadelphia? Eagles owner will push for it if NYC is a success
See if you can spot the climate outlier in this group of cities:
Miami. San Diego. Phoenix. New Orleans. Philadelphia.
Yep, the City of Brotherly Love — or at least Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie — is angling for a Super Bowl, provided that the upcoming festivities in New York City go well. Speaking at the NFL owners’ meetings (which, it must be noted, are being held this week in ARIZONA), Lurie indicated that he’d be all over a Super Bowl in Philly:
“Growing up in Boston, I went to more great games in snow conditions,” he said. “Some of the most memorable games I’ve ever been to were very difficult and wonderful conditions. I would have no fear of it snowing. As long as there’s no public safety issue that day, I think it would be great if it’s snowing a bit.”
[Michael Silver: Time for Roger Goodell to flex muscle | Ravens' scheduling snafu]
And that’s wonderful for you, Mr. Lurie. But most of the people associated with the Super Bowl, from media to sponsors to assorted wealthy types who figure out how to get tickets to the game, have absolutely zero interest in a weather-affected Super Bowl. Plus, you thought this year’s power outage was bad? How do you think a few inches of snow — or, at best, the subfreezing weather that is the average in Philly in February — would go over? (Of note: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has also made a pitch for a Super Bowl. Cold weather be damned!) So, yes, it’s a nice idea … but Philadelphia has a fight so uphill it’s vertical.
Still, no matter how fruitless the cause, we’ve got to admire Lurie for his dedication to his city. Hey, if he can’t get the Eagles to the mountain, he’ll try to bring the mountain to Philadelphia. Probably a lot easier that way.
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
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Eagles Owner Lurie May Try For Philadelphia Hosted Super Bowl
Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie said Monday he is enthusiastic about the New York-area Super Bowl next year, and will push for Philadelphia to host one, if the New York venture is a success.
“Growing up in Boston, I went to more great games in snow conditions,” Lurie said during the lunch recess at the NFL Meetings at the Arizona Biltmore hotel. “Some of the most memorable games I’ve ever been to were very difficult and wonderful conditions. I would have no fear of it snowing — as long as there’s no public safety issue that day, I think it would be great if it’s snowing a bit.”
Asked then if he would want a roman-numeraled game for Philly, Lurie said. “I will. Yes, I will. If it’s a success. New York will help us.”
Atlanta Falcons will have a new $1 billion stadium by 2017, may have a Super Bowl soon after
On Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons and the city of Atlanta agreed to basic terms on a deal that will finance the construction of a $ 1 billion stadium for the team. it’s estimated that the new building, which will replace the Georgia Dome as the Falcons’ home, will be ready for business in time for the 2017 season.
The Falcons and the city had been going over terms for years, but team owner Arthur Blank and Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed were finally able to announce the broad strokes.
“We appreciate the mayor and his staff’s diligence in moving the agreements for a new stadium toward completion,” Blank said in a statement. “We are grateful to the members of the Atlanta City Council who have given us the opportunity to address their questions or concerns, and we will continue to work with the mayor, city council, Invest Atlanta and our partners at the Georgia World Congress Center in reaching final agreements.”
As Blank’s statement intimated, there are a few more steps along the way. Once the Falcons and the Georgia World Congress Center hammer out all the particulars, it must be approved by (deep breath) the Atlanta City Council, World Congress Center board, Invest Atlanta and the Fulton County Commission.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution detailed a few more parameters about the agreement.
Under terms to be announced this afternoon by Reed and Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the Falcons would assume responsibility for $ 50 million in infrastructure costs related to the stadium.
Also, the Arthur Blank Family Foundation would invest $ 15 million in projects aimed at boosting English Avenue, Vine City, Castleberry Hill and other neighborhoods close to the stadium.
In addition, Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency, would commit another $ 15 million in tax allocation district dollars for economic development projects in the area.
According to the agreement so far, public financing of the stadium will cop at $ 200 million, which will come from hotel taxes in Atlanta and Fulton County. All other costs will be shouldered by the Falcons and “other sources.”
“A new stadium will lead to the creation of well-paying jobs during its construction at a time when many of our friends and neighbors are seeking employment,” Mayor Reed said in his statement. “This new stadium will also keep the city of Atlanta at the forefront of the hospitality industry in America as we pursue our goal of attracting 40 million visitors annually. It will strengthen the viability of the more than 200,000 jobs that support our tourism and convention business every single day.”
Moreover, this would put Atlanta in the pole position for a Super Bowl in the near future. Locations for the next two big games have already been decided (the Meadowlands in Rutherford, N.J. for Super Bowl XLVIII, and University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Az. for Super Bowl XLIX). The location for Super Bowl L will be decided among several bidders at the owners’ meetings in May, and the 2017 Super Bowl location may be decided then as well. If that’s the case, Blank may have just bagged himself the first Super Bowl played in Atlanta since Super Bowl XXXIV on Jan. 30, 2000.
