Super Bowl LII on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium is "anticipated to be the coldest" on record, "even colder than when Minnesota last hosted" the game in '92, according to a front-page piece by S.M. Chavey of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The forecast for Sunday shows a "high of around 8 degrees" and a "low of -3, the first time a Super Bowl Sunday has ever dipped below zero in the host city." The National Weather Service tweeted that wind chills "could be as low as -19." There is also a 20% "chance of snow early Sunday." Prior to this year, the "coldest Super Bowl" was in Pontiac, Mich., in '82. The "high was 16 degrees; the low, 5 degrees." Authorities with the Host Committee this year said that they have been "planning for cold -- with warming benches, places near Super Bowl Live for folks to go inside, and suggestions for appropriate clothing -- for years" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/2). The temperature in Minneapolis on Thursday "topped out at 9 degrees." With wind, it "felt like minus-20 around the morning rush." The NWS has "already issued a frostbite and hypothermia alert for Sunday" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 2/2). In Minneapolis, Nick Halter noted the Host Committee is "setting up tents all around U.S. Bank Stadium and heating them to 40 degrees so that fans, waiting to get through security on Sunday, won't be out in the subzero wind chills" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/1).
ON HIGH SURVEILLANCE: The PIONEER PRESS' Chavey wrote while many "noted the need for security at such a big event" like Super Bowl LII, not all locals were "convinced the high security was a good look for the city." Those who had witnessed the Republican National Convention in '08 said that it "didn't come close to matching the magnitude of Super Bowl LII's security." Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said, "Some in our community might not be used to seeing such a robust public-safety presence, but I will stress again that it is for their safety." Chavey noted the Super Bowl is categorized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a "Level One Special Event Assessment Rating, meaning it has the highest threat level to public safety." The "visible security force is daunting" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/1).
WELCOME BACK TO THE BOLD NORTH: Vikings President Mark Wilf said hosting the Super Bowl in Minneapolis for the first time since '92 has been the culmination of work taken place "since our franchise was purchased" by his family in '05. He said he "can't wait for the world to see" U.S. Bank Stadium. Wilf: "Three-and-a-half years ago when our fellow owners voted to get the Super Bowl here, we knew they'd do a great job (on building the stadium), and that’s been proven” ("Super Bowl Live," NFL Network, 2/1). CNBC's Jim Cramer said the “word ‘dome’ is clearly wrong" when describing U.S. Bank Stadium. Cramer: "It’s a museum of football. 'Dome' just doesn’t give you any sense of what you’ve got here” ("Squawk on the Street," CNBC, 2/2).
GETTING A HEAD START: In Miami, Armando Salguero notes South Florida '20 Super Bowl Host Committee Chair Rodney Barreto "brought about 10 of his host committee members" to Minneapolis. Barreto said, "We'll have a behind-the-scenes tour of everything that’s going on with the Super Bowl in Minnesota. We'll take notice of what they do at the airport. We'll look at their volunteer program. ... We'll meet with other counterparts that are running Super Bowls. We're meeting with representatives from Atlanta, which has it before us, and Tampa, which has it after us." Salguero notes Barreto's job is to "remind the NFL that Miami is again a hot destination city for the big game" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/2).
