Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans and Tampa yesterday were "formally invited to bid" to host the Super Bowl in '19 or '20, according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. The cities were chosen during yesterday's NFL owners meeting in S.F., and two of the four will be "chosen to host the games in a vote by NFL owners" next May, "culminating what will be a year-long bid process." Falcons Owner Arthur Blank has "long made it known that he wants to bring" the '19 Super Bowl to the new Falcons stadium. But team President & CEO Rich McKay said that Atlanta will "bid for both" the '19 and '20 events, "hoping to land either one." Tucker notes the '19 Super Bowl is the first that the Falcons stadium "would be eligible to host because the NFL requires a venue to be open for two football regular seasons before being the site of the league’s championship game." Another reason Atlanta might prefer '19 is that the stadium "already has been chosen" to host the NCAA men's basketball Final Four in '20. The city also "plans to submit a bid later this month" to host the CFP Championship game in January '18 (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 5/20). ESPN.com's Mike Triplett wrote while Atlanta is the "least experienced of the four contenders, it could be considered a front-runner" because of the new stadium. The NFL has "often rewarded cities with new stadiums with Super Bowls in recent history" (ESPN.com, 5/19).
UNDER THE DOME: In New Orleans, Terrance Harris notes the city "came in second to Minnesota last year" in the vote for the '18 Super Bowl "largely because the Vikings are opening a brand-new stadium soon." That makes it "likely New Orleans will focus on bidding" for the '20 game. New Orleans officials "are hopeful" that the more than $30M in upgrades to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome slated for the next two years will "help its bid for one of the two available Super Bowl years." The Superdome is having "larger, state-of-the-art video boards installed and an HD room is currently under construction for much clearer video production." Meanwhile, Sun Life Stadium is also "undergoing a major overhaul to help South Florida improve its chances" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/20).
SUNSHINE STATE OF THINGS: In Miami, Adam Beasley writes the news "surely comes as a relief to the Dolphins, who have done most everything possible to get back into the rotation after repeated snubs by the league over the past few years." South Florida has "hosted 10 Super Bowls," but none since '10 because Sun Life Stadium "didn’t meet the league’s standards." The venue's "modernization project should be completed" for the start of the '16 season and will include "all new seats, a shade canopy, new scoreboards and other amenities" (MIAMI HERALD, 5/20).
HOLLYWOOD ENDING? In L.A., Sam Farmer reports the city "will be considered a potential host" for Super Bowl LIV in '20 -- "provided the market has at least one NFL team by then." L.A. would go against the three markets that fail to land the '19 Super Bowl as long as a relocation "is approved -- as opposed to a team unilaterally moving to the nation's second-largest market without league approval -- and at least one team has begun playing in a new L.A.-area stadium by 2018" (LATIMES.com, 5/20).
