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Events and Attractions

New Orleans Officials Surprised At NFL's Vote To Award Minneapolis Super Bowl

New Orleans' effort to land Super Bowl LII -- which used the city's 300th birthday in '18 as a key selling point -- "wasn't enough to overcome the continuing trend of new stadiums winning bids," according to Larry Holder of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. New Orleans Sports Foundation President & CEO Jay Cicero said, "This was more of a vote for Minneapolis and a new stadium much more than it was a vote against New Orleans and our presentation. We nailed our presentation." Holder notes while Entergy Chief Administrative Officer Rod West, who helped present New Orleans' bid, was "gracious in defeat," he "couldn't help but express his surprise in the decision." West said, "We prepared to win this. We knew what we were up against with the presumptions for public money and the weight that it holds. So yeah, this is a shock. You don't have a next weekend to come back. That's the tough part. You have to wait a couple of years before you can bid again." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell added, "New Orleans is a great venue. They did a terrific job in the last Super Bowl, but so did Indianapolis. I do think, and I've said this before in every circumstances, it's much more competitive to host these Super Bowls. The stadiums, the new stadiums, are obviously a big factor and drive the influence of owners from their perspective." Holder writes securing a bid in the future "will be a tall task for New Orleans," as it is unknown when the city "will be brought back to the bidding table" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/21). 

TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE: In Baton Rouge, Ted Lewis writes it was a "tough day" for Cicero, New Orleans Sports Foundation VP Sam Joffray and the "rest of the folks who put in months of work putting together what Cicero said was the best bid presentation for an event in his 22 years with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation." It also was a "tough day for New Orleans as a prime venue for major sports." To find something that New Orleans "really went after and was blindsided by the result, you have to go all the way back to 2003 when a bid for a Final Four in 2007 or 2008 was shot down" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 5/21). In New Orleans, Christopher Dabe wrote the city "had a few things working against its bid," including the "infamous blackout when the city last hosted the game" in '13. There also was the fact that the city "has hosted the game 10 times already." Dabe: "Or maybe the NFL figures New Orleans isn't going anywhere soon, and the league can make a return here whenever it gets around to it" (NOLA.com, 5/20). In New Orleans, Holder noted Saints Owner Tom Benson "fell when leaving the podium after speaking to the league owners during his five-minute pitch." Benson "hit his head and left the meetings in an ambulance." Saints VP/Communications Greg Bensel said that Benson "was fine after the fall and would be checked for a concussion before flying back to New Orleans" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/21).

RETURN TRIP? ESPN.com's Mike Triplett wrote, "The Super Bowl will come back to New Orleans. Just like it has time and again over the past five decades." New Orleans' 300th birthday was a "compelling reason" to bring the Super Bowl back in '18, but $500M "apparently trumps 300." Asked if he would encourage New Orleans to bid again as soon as possible, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said, "I sure would. But New Orleans doesn't need me to tell 'em how to do it. ... Just know they're one of the great places in the hearts of the owners in the NFL. It just didn't work this vote" (ESPN.com, 5/20). In New Orleans, Mark Waller writes when it "comes to drawing big events and tourists, New Orleans has been on an extraordinary run," but the city "suffered a wobble" with yesterday's vote. New Orleans hosted the NBA All-Star game and WrestleMania XXX this year, and hosted the Final Four in '12 and the women's Final Four in '13. Waller: "And, of course, it hosted the Super Bowl in 2013" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/21).

TIME TO STEP UP: In New Orleans, Trey Iles writes the NFL's vote "had most jaws dropping around these parts." Iles: "Not mine. And not those from the folks at the Allstate Sugar Bowl." New Orleans in December "looked to the casual observer like a lead-pipe cinch" to host the '16 College Football Playoff championship game, but what the city and state "found out in December is that history is no longer a major factor in luring championship events." Glendale outbid New Orleans for the '16 CFP game "almost two to one in dollars." If Louisiana "wants to keep getting these marquee events, it's going to have to step up financially." The state "needs only to look at Texas as to how it can finance these big events." AT&T Stadium will "host the first CFP championship game in 2015 and that's primarily because of the Texas Events Trust Funds." Louisiana has a "similar mechanism set up but it exists only on paper," and has "yet to be funded." The "next big event that New Orleans will bid on" is the '17 men's Final Four. The NCAA will "award that in November and the Sugar Bowl and GNOSF are working feverishly on the RFP" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/21).

BUILD AND THEY WILL COME: In Boston, Ben Volin writes under the header, "Minneapolis Buys Itself A Super Bowl For 2018." Volin: "Build a stadium and the Super Bowl will come. That’s the reality of today’s NFL." That was the "only significant story line to emerge" from yesterday's vote. The owners are "all about rewarding each other for getting stadiums built," as the "back-slapping" began in '11 when the NFL awarded Jones the Super Bowl as a gift for building AT&T Stadium. Now Indianapolis and New Orleans are "probably going to have to wait a long time to get their next turn at a Super Bowl, even assuming they had great bid presentations this time." Atlanta, which is "set to open a new retractable-roof stadium" in '17, is a "good bet to get the game" in '19 or '20. Now that Minneapolis and N.Y./N.J. have been awarded Super Bowls, other "cold-weather cities will jump in" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/21).

TAKING TIME OFF? In Indianapolis, Stephen Holder writes the NFL's decision "likely sidelines Indianapolis' hopes for a second Super Bowl for an extended period." The city was "up against stiff competition," and was "eliminated first." Indiana Sports Corp President Allison Melangton, who chaired the city's bid committee, said, "I think, obviously, the stadium is a big part of it. All three bid cities offered something completely different as far as what they were pitching. Minnesota's was the stadium. For New Orleans, it was the 300th anniversary. For us, we stayed true to who we are. We're a community that has great engagement and great volunteers and a legacy that's important to us. ... But that wasn't a priority for the owners, and they get to choose." Colts Owner Jim Irsay, attending his "first league meeting since leaving inpatient treatment after his arrest on DUI and drug-possession charges, made his own five-minute pitch to his peers." Irsay said, "It's like coming into the losing locker room. But we know we've had defeat before in trying to bid and came back and won. I think we had a tremendous presentation." Meanwhile, Irsay "echoed Melangton in saying it was much too early to comment on a potential future bid" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/21).

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