The New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, co-owned by the New York Giants and Jets, has captured hosting duties for the 2014 Super Bowl. The announcement was made by Roger Goodell on Tuesday afternoon during the league’s spring meeting.
Ironically, there hasn’t been a single NFL contest at the new venue yet. The first NFL regular season game, determined in a coin toss, will be hosted by the New York Giants on Sunday, September 12, 2010. The Jets will play their season opener the day after on Monday Night Football.
New York is definitely a unique market. Goodell said, “It will be a great experience for our fans. It will be a great experience for the NFL.”
Other bids under consideration for Super Bowl XLVIII were from warm weather venues in Tampa and Southern Florida. It took four rounds of secret balloting before the NY/NJ region, whose tagline was “Make Some History”, got the nod.
The 50-degree rule for Super Bowl play has been waived in a one-time exception in order to award the bid to a venue that experiences winter with a vengeance.
Jets owner Woody Johnson cracked, “I like doing things for the first time … I hope it snows.” He also was quick to raise the possibility that the contest to be held in four years could be a Giants vs Jets showdown.
The 2014 dates are not yet set but will be either February 2, 9, or 16, depending upon the structure of the 2013 season. The 2011 Super Bowl will be in Dallas, 2012 in Indianapolis, and 2013 in New Orleans.
Check out more photos of the new stadium, and the ESPN report on video below:
Photo: PicApp