U.S. Bank Stadium is slated to host Super Bowl LII next year, and about 200 officials from the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee and about a dozen Vikings officials "will be on hand in Houston" this week, according to Chris Tomasson of the ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS. The group will "attend events and visit venues," and some officials last night "attended Super Bowl Opening Night" at Minute Maid Park. Vikings Exec VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley said, "We just want to see how it’s set up and how it’s run and make sure we’ve got a game plan (for next year)." Tomasson notes while the Minnesota officials "will attend plenty of events in Houston throughout the week, they will pause Thursday night to hold one." Being "held in downtown Houston will be the Minnesota Party." Among those on hand will be Vikings co-Owner Mark Wilf and LB Chad Greenway. Some other players are "also expected to attend" (ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS, 1/31).
TAKING A LONG LOOK: In Atlanta, Tim Tucker in a front-page piece notes as "part of the preparation" for Super Bowl LIII in '19, Mercedez-Benz Stadium GM Scott Jenkins and about a dozen others "associated with the Metro Atlanta Host Committee long had planned to attend this season’s Super Bowl at the NFL’s invitation for an up-close, behind-the-scenes look at the enormous event." Atlanta has "hosted the Super Bowl twice previously" -- in '94 and '00 at the Georgia Dome -- and the opportunity to do so again was part of Falcons Owner Arthur Blank’s "pitch for a new stadium." As big as the Super Bowl was when Atlanta last hosted the event, it "has grown larger." Former Georgia Dome GM Carl Adkins, who is Exec Dir of the '19 Atlanta host committee, said, "We want to make sure everybody gets a good sense of the enormity and the scale of the event. There are so many more ancillary events surrounding the game itself now" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 1/31).
KEEP CALM, PARTY ON: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said demonstrations during Super Bowl week "won't prevent fans from having a good time." The AP noted a rally was held on Sunday "outside Super Bowl headquarters with protesters opposing President Trump's travel restrictions." Turner "stressed that security would not be an issue and that the city has worked for four years preparing to host the game for the first time since '04" (AP, 1/30).
