A "confident group of NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee officials assured that the NFL’s first cold-weather, outdoor Super Bowl will proceed without a hitch, set a precedent for future Super Bowls, and be the first of many for the region," according to Jorge Castillo of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Giants Treasurer and Host Committee co-Chair Jonathan Tisch said, "Hopefully when we do all the tallying for weeks to come, the other 30 owners will say to themselves when there’s a chance to do it again: 'Super Bowl XLVIII in New York and New Jersey was a huge success. Let’s try to do this once every 10 years.'" The group emphasized that the "week leading up to Sunday and Sunday itself will be a success regardless of the weather forecast." Tisch "insists cold-weather sites can handle football's biggest event." He said, "This is a legacy that will live beyond the game itself" (AP, 1/27). Giants President & CEO John Mara said, "You’re certainly not hoping for frigid conditions. You don’t want it affecting the game on the field or, probably more importantly, you want the fans to be comfortable." He added, "Would I rule out any city based on weather? I don’t think so. Except for maybe Green Bay. Not enough hotel rooms" (N.Y. POST, 1/28).
: Host Committee President & CEO Al Kelly said of the perceived bias toward N.Y. over New Jersey as the event's host, "I think from the beginning we recognized that the Super Bowl wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the assets of both states. New York doesn’t have the football facilities to host the Super Bowl and New Jersey doesn’t have a sufficient amount of hospitality and hotels to host the Super Bowl"
(Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/28). Kelly: "There's 565 municipalities in the state of New Jersey, and through the various efforts that we've undertaken we've touched over 300 of them. Admittedly some of those touches were small; some of them were quite significant" (
Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/28). Kelly "pointed to both teams staying all week in Jersey City, which also was the site Monday night of a Macy's fireworks display and concert." He said that the league had "struck 'a darn good balance' even with Manhattan's Super Bowl Boulevard taking center stage Wednesday through Saturday." In New Jersey, John Brennan notes Gov. Chris Christie "did not respond" when asked if he would the game (
Bergen RECORD, 1/28). Christie, in his first public appearance to talk about the Super Bowl, said, "Now people can go have some fun in New York, I'm fine with that. ... But in the end, this is about the game. It's not about all the other stuff, and when the game starts at 6:30 and when the announcers come on they're not going to say, 'Live from New York City,' because that would be a lie" (
USA TODAY, 1/28). New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker yesterday said, "I passed miffed a while ago. I mean this is ridiculous. Every time they talk about the Super Bowl, (you hear) 'we’ll see you in New York'" (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/28). In N.Y., Kevin Kernan writes, "Yo, let's be clear about one thing. The Super Bowl is in New Jersey" (
N.Y. POST, 1/28).
ON JERSEY SHORE: In New Jersey, Linh Tat noted a "few hundred fans on Monday braved below-freezing temperatures" to attend the Macy's concert and fireworks show at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The show marked the "official start of a week of NFL-sponsored events" leading up to Sunday's game. The concert featured performances by Daughtry, Goo Goo Dolls and The Fray. The crowd was "thinner than most had expected, most likely because of the frigid temperatures" (
Bergen RECORD, 1/28). Also in New Jersey, Jeff Green notes the two towns surrounding MetLife Stadium are "holding their own celebrations, without any promotion of the NFL." Officials in East Rutherford and Secaucus, who feel "slighted by the lack of attention paid to New Jersey in the lead-up to the big game," yesterday said that they are "still expecting a big turnout" (
Bergen RECORD, 1/28).
VIKING QUEST: In Minneapolis, Mike Kaszuba noted Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton yesterday announced a "campaign to lobby the NFL for a Super Bowl" at the new Vikings stadium for as early as '18. Vikings officials said that they "are confident that the NFL, as it has done in the past, will award the game to Minnesota as an acknowledgment of the new stadium." Both the team and the NFL "implied, but did not directly commit to, bringing a Super Bowl to Minnesota during the legislative process." While Minnesota already is "one of three finalists for the Super Bowl in 2018, hurdles -- both logistical and image-related -- remain for the Vikings, Dayton and civic leaders." Yesterday’s lobbying effort "came as most schools in Minnesota were closed because of the cold, and the temperature Monday never reached zero" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/28). The AP's Patrick Condon noted Minnesota boosters "promised that even if the winter of 2018 is a repeat of this year, it would be 70 degrees in the stadium." The other Super Bowl finalists are Indianapolis, which hosted the game two years ago, and New Orleans, which hosted it last year. Minneapolis has "only staged football's biggest game once, in 1992" (AP, 1/27). ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the Vikings have "created all these indoor tunnels so that a lot of people don’t have to be outside at all, which shields them from the outside." Schefter: "It creates almost like an indoor experience” (“NFL Insiders,” ESPN, 1/27).
