It’s New Orleans…. Again.
The NFL awarded New Orleans the 2013 Super Bowl (XLVII) during the NFL owners’ meeting Tuesday afternoon. It’s a record-tying 10th Super Bowl for the Crescent City.
In what was considered a tough competition, NFL owners selected New Orleans, which last hosted the title game in 2002, instead of South Florida and Phoenix.
Throughout the process New Orleans was considered the sentimental favorite to land the game, especially if the state and Saints could reach a long-term Superdome lease agreement and the Dome could receive some renovations.
On May 1, the two sides reached a deal that would keep the Saints in New Orleans through 2025 and provide an $85 million renovation to the Dome. The deal still needs legislative approval.
But the plan and New Orleans’ ability to serve as a splendid host certainly swayed the vote, along with a little coaxing by Saints owner Tom Benson.
By the time Super Bowl XLVII is kicked off, the game will be played in an expanded Dome with 70,000 seats, extra suites, wider concourses, more restaurants, a bunker club lounge, and a sports district outside.
For more than a year, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Saints have worked on the plan. Sports Foundation President Jay Cicero said the group had a lot of input from Saints executive Rita Benson LeBlanc.
Two weeks ago, the sports foundation mailed its bid to all the NFL owners in handmade wooden boxes, engraved locally from Louisiana cypress and fitted with marine brass fixtures salvaged from Mississippi River docks. Each box was inset with a customized wooden placard bearing the logo of each team. The cases housed colorful three-volume binders — an intro to New Orleans, the league’s bid specifications and letters of recommendation from local dignitaries — an iPod with a 2 1/2-minute audio-video overview and a small flash-card leaflet summarizing the presentation.
And earlier today, the New Orleans contingent made its 15-minute presentation to the owners.
Apparently, it went well, as the league decided to skip over South Florida, which will host its 10th Super Bowl in February, and Phoenix, which did a superb job hosting the 2008 game.
