Atlanta's soon-to-be-built Mercedes-Benz Stadium "will host" the CFP championship game in '18, followed by Santa Clara's Levi's Stadium in '19 and Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans in '20, according to Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com. The venues "were selected from a group of nine bids to host the title game, including Houston, South Florida, Charlotte, Detroit, Minnesota and San Antonio." CFP Exec Dir Bill Hancock said that the northern cities "weren't ruled out because of weather concerns and will 'be very much in the hunt' to host future games." Hancock: "We do want to move the event around. It's just that we had better bids and better situations in other cities" (ESPN.com, 11/4). USA TODAY's Wolken & Uthman noted this season's championship game will be at Univ. of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, followed by Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in '17 (USATODAY.com, 11/4).
NEST EGG: In Atlanta, Tim Tucker in a front-page piece notes the '18 game will represent the "first college football championship to be determined" in Atlanta. It also will be the "will cap the first season" in the new $1.4B stadium. Atlanta was "competing against" Miami, Houston and Santa Clara for the '18 game. Atlanta Sports Council Exec Dir Dan Corso: "We high-fived and hugged and celebrated as soon as we got the good news." Tucker notes in addition to the Sports Council and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, the city's bid group included reps of the Falcons, Georgia World Congress Center Authority, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Georgia Tech (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11/5).
BAY BREAK: In San Jose, Jon Wilner in a front-page piece writes if Levi's Stadium is "good enough for Super Bowl 50 ... it's good enough for college football, too." Five other cities "bid for the game" in '19 -- Charlotte, Detroit, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio. The 49ers and the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose "combined to bid on the title game for all three years available in the upcoming cycle of game." When Levi's was "little more than a hole in the ground, the 49ers and their partner cities bid on" the '17 title game, but "lost out to Tampa." 49ers COO Al Guido said, "The original bid was just the wrong timing. We changed enough of what we submitted that we felt pretty confident" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 11/5). Hancock said that CFP reps "will be at Levi’s during the lead-up to the Super Bowl to check out transportation, hotels and stadium operations." The S.F. CHRONICLE notes Northern California "has never hosted a college football championship game" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 11/5).
BAYOU BASH: In New Orleans, Jim Kleinpeter in a front-page piece notes the '20 CFP title game there "will be the first college football championship game" in the city since '11. New Orleans Host Committee Exec Dir Jeff Hundley: "It's something a lot of folks have worked hard on for several months now." Hundley: "Our ability this go around to up the ante is what carried the day. We were able to double the financial offer we made the last go around." Kleinpeter notes New Orleans "missed on its last bids" for the CFP Championship Game, Super Bowl and Final Four. New Orleans beat out Houston, San Antonio, Charlotte and Minneapolis for the '20 game (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 11/5). In Baton Rouge, Scott Rabalais writes if the CFP "didn’t award New Orleans a championship game this go round, then there might not have been another bid process, at least not for the foreseeable future. ... It's a day for saving face" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 11/5). In New Orleans, Ron Higgins writes under the header, "College Football's Shining Diamond Deserves To Be Back In Its Superdome Showcase." Hundley said that the Sugar Bowl committee "kicked in two thirds of the funding." The bid also "got a big boost from the Louisiana legislature that created a qualified event law this past May that sets aside state money to lure national events to Louisiana." Higgins: "If that's what impresses the committee -- a boatload of cash and new downtown construction -- so be it" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 11/5).
