There is currently "no plan" for a halftime show during Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium because NFL officials "can't figure out how to stage the festivities in the frigid climate," according to sources cited by Josh Margolin of the N.Y. POST. A source said, "It’s not only the acts and the singers but the crews that have to put the stage together. You know, the assembly has to be done a certain way. It’s choreographed and rehearsed so it can be assembled and disassembled as fast as possible. And you just can’t assemble the stage and break it down fast enough in the cold. There’s no plan right now of what to do in its place." Sources said that the "logistical nightmares for 2014 have already started -- and are getting worse every day." Margolin also notes "lawyers, league bosses and TV execs are haggling over protocols for a weather emergency, like a heavy snowstorm" (N.Y. POST, 2/4). In N.Y., Gary Myers writes, "Here’s a suggestion for the Super Bowl XLVIII host committee: Put a clock in the middle of Times Square to count down the months, days, hours and minutes until kickoff at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2014. And while they’re at it, they should keep updating the latest weather forecast for kickoff." Some of the NFL’s "most memorable games have been played in awful conditions." Myers: "Remember the Ice Bowl? No game has ever been called the Controlled Climate Bowl." N.Y./N.J. Super Bowl Host Committee co-Chair Jon Tisch said, "We have 365 days to prove to the NFL owners that their decision to award Super Bowl XLVIII to the Giants and Jets was a wise one, and that the residents of both states will be wonderful hosts" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/4).
NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT: USA TODAY's Kevin Manahan writes N.Y./N.J. Host Committee CEO Al Kelly "has 12 months to solve all the riddles of a Super Bowl event staged on both sides of the Hudson River." Kelly, "figuring the host committee will need about $60 million to stage the Super Bowl, must raise the dough." While everything in New Orleans is within "walking distance," that is "not so in New Jersey and New York." That means "buses and shuttles and express lanes on the highways." Kelly said, "We're going to make geography a non-issue. We're going to make it so people don't have to worry about driving or drinking or the snow. We'll get them places" (USA TODAY, 2/4). In Newark, Steve Politi wrote, "All the worries seem to center on the potential for a winter storm, but whether it snows or is unseasonably warm, the hardest part will be following a city that knows how to turn a football game into a party." Former NFLer Archie Manning said that New Orleans is “so good at hosting events like this because of its experience as a host city, its love of the game and because it knows how to have a good time.” Politi wrote if next year’s Super Bowl is “a success, there will be dozens of politicians lining up to take credit.” If it fails, Kelly “will take most of the heat -- and any thought of the Meadowlands or another cold-weather site getting a crack at hosting the game will be lost” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/3).
NO MATTER THE WEATHER: On Long Island, Neil Best wrote the notion that the “logistics of hosting a Super Bowl -- weather-related or otherwise -- in New York and northern New Jersey will somehow overwhelm or intimidate us is comical.” The “real concern is the opposite: That unlike in most cities, where the Super Bowl is an all-consuming community extravaganza, it will be swallowed up by New York, a city forever with other things on its mind.” Best: “If the weather gods cooperate and the organizers get the light, scenic snow they openly are rooting for, no one will forget where Super Bowl XLVIII was played. Could the weather thing go all wrong, in the form of a wind-driven, 35-degree rain or sub-zero cold or a crippling blizzard? Sure.” It is “not a problem” to host “swank parties for rich and/or well-connected, well-dressed people even in the late January chill.” Best: “As powerful a brand as the Super Bowl is, after a half-century, it's gotten a tad stale. A cold slap in the face is just what it needs” (NEWSDAY, 2/3). Kelly said, “We certainly don’t want to be one and done." In New Jersey, Tara Sullivan wrote handling cold weather is “part of the DNA of the New York/New Jersey area,” unlike in Dallas two years ago, when a “freak snowstorm exploited the shortcomings of an unprepared city” (Bergen RECORD, 2/3). In N.Y., Ken Belson writes the Super Bowl "is not a typical playoff game." Many who attend are "guests of sponsors and other companies that do business with the NFL." But warm weather "is never guaranteed in New Orleans, Southern California or South Florida" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/4).
HOW DID WE DO? A New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE editorial stated the city "sparkled in its role as host city" of Super Bowl XLVII. The thousands of volunteers "roaming city streets and working Super Bowl venues have seemed to be on a mission to make sure that visitors have the best time they've ever had." So have "the bartenders, waiters and other service industry staffers." The city's host committee and Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration "deserves kudos," while the "hospitality and leadership" shown by Saints Owner Tom Benson and his wife, Gayle, "set the tone for the week" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 2/3).
CARROT & STICK: In Miami, Douglas Hanks wrote NFL teams have “long used” the Super Bowl “as a potential reward for communities funding stadium construction.” But Super Bowl L in ‘16 “presents a special case for South Florida.” Dolphins execs said that a “stadium upgrade will preserve South Florida’s Super Bowl edge for years to come, so a stadium plan approved after May would presumably make the region a strong contender for Super Bowls” after ‘16. But team execs said that a “delay would probably cost South Florida the benefits that come with the 50th game” (MIAMI HERALD, 2/2).
BAY VIEWS: In S.F., Matier & Ross reported the Bay Area Super Bowl bid committee recently “had its first meeting.” Attendees included former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former MLB Giants President Pat Gallagher, Silicon Valley Leadership Group President & CEO Carl Guardino and former Visa Head of Global Sponsorship Marketing Michael Lynch. Charles Schwab and former S.F. Mayor Willie Brown are “part of the group, but missed the meeting” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/3).
BACK FOR MORE: In Indianapolis, Erika Smith wrote as things stand, the city is “still going after” the Super Bowl for ‘18. But it “could end up being”’ ‘19 or ‘20, “depending on who wins bids over the next couple of years.” Former ’12 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee President & CEO and Indiana Sports Corp. President Allison Melangton said, “The idea is to bid in the year with the best chance of winning” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/3). Melangton, in a special to the INDIANAPOLIS STAR, wrote of the city hosting Super Bowl XLVI in ‘12, “While $176 million in direct economic impact and more than 250 hours of national and international television broadcasts from Indianapolis continue to pay dividends, perhaps the greatest legacy of Super Bowl XLVI is the civic pride and can-do spirit that has been energized these past 365 days.” It has “us thinking and talking about the next big thing, or making the next thing better” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/2).
DUMBO'S FLY PATTERN? In Orlando, Mike Bianchi wrote the Citrus Bowl following renovations “still will not match some of the NFL's more plush, palatial stadiums, but Orlando's other immense advantages far outweigh the stadium's lack of bells and whistles.” The city has “better weather, better hotels, better attractions, a better airport and a better and bigger convention center than every other city that has ever hosted a Super Bowl.” Bianchi wrote of Disney World, “It’s always amazed me why local politicians haven't aggressively pursued the Mouse about building a magnificent domed stadium out near the I-Drive corridor -- a place to host Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, Final Fours, BCS National Championship Games, neutral-site college football games, World Cup soccer matches, Democratic and Republican national conventions and anything else you can possibly imagine.” ESPN already has a “massive sport investment in Orlando at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.” Bianchi: “Why not take it to the next level?” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/3).
