Steelers President Art Rooney II said that the team is "'confident' it will submit an official bid" to host the '23 Super Bowl, but that the team "will need to add about 2,000 seats to Heinz Field to do so," according to Chris Adamski of the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW. Rooney said that there are "regional issues that must be addressed before a formal bid is submitted" by '18, including "additional 'full-service' hotel rooms, ample availability of party and function venues, a second indoor practice facility besides the one at the team's South Side headquarters and increasing Heinz Field's seating capacity to more than 70,000." A renovation of the south end zone this offseason "will leave the 14-year-old stadium with just more than 68,000 seats." Rooney said that the additional seats "likely would be temporary for what would be Super Bowl LVII." He added that one of the first hurdles is "getting the league to approve another outdoor Super Bowl in a northern city," as the only time that occurred was Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. Rooney said that pending league approval, he has "heard of 'five or six' teams that would be interested in hosting a cold-weather city Super Bowl." He added that the Steelers "will commission an economic impact study a Super Bowl would have on the region 'at some point'" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 7/27). In Pittsburgh, Gerry Dulac notes Rooney last month said that he "wasn’t sure the Steelers would even submit a bid" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 7/27). The '23 game would be Super Bowl 57, matching the number synonymous with the stadium naming-rights partner (THE DAILY).
