Roger Goodell took to the podium today for his Super Bowl press conference. A popular subject, for obvious reasons, would be where the league will be holding future Super Bowls. Every new stadium gets one in short order upon opening. Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara hosted Super Bowl 50 four years ago and the 2022 Super Bowl is scheduled to be played at the new stadium in Los Angeles.
So, the question is, when will the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas play host to the ‘Big Game’?
Goodell was in Vegas recently because the 2020 draft is being held there in April, which means the NFL will be in Vegas even before the Raiders and with the stadium still months away from completion.
Having the draft there is cool and all for the city, but the Super Bowl is where Allegiant stadium takes center stage. Or rather becomes the center stage for the biggest event in all of sports.
“As you know we’ll be having the draft there which will be a good start,” said Goodell. “As I said when I was out there, I think we should get through the draft before we focus on the Super Bowl. But that is coming quickly and our attempts to move to the next Super Bowl probably will be done before the end of calendar year here in ’20.”
I guess you could call the draft festivities a test run for Goodell to see if Vegas is ready for a Super Bowl. After all, a couple years ago they didn’t even have a professional franchise of any kind.
There’s no reason to think Vegas wouldn’t be ready for the Super Bowl to come to town. Goodell spoke glowingly about it.
“I was just out there in the last two weeks. You could feel the excitement, you could see the excitement by the city,” Goodell said of Las Vegas. “It’s a great facility, I’ve had a chance to go through it on several occasions over the last several months. I think it’s going to be great for the community. I think we’re going to be great for the community and the community is going to be great for us. Las Vegas is growing and I think becoming a more diverse community than it has in the past and we are anxious to be part of that.”
So, barring any unforeseen disasters during the draft to change Goodell’s mind, it seems likely there will be a Super Bowl held there sooner than later.
Unfortunately, even if he gives Vegas the go for a Super Bowl, the game won’t actually be played there for a while. The decisions on Super Bowls are made five years ahead, so the next year they’re deciding upon is 2025.
Obviously, this year is in Miami. The next four Super Bowls are in Tampa (2021), Los Angeles (2022), Glendale/Phoenix (2023), and New Orleans (2024).
[vertical-gallery id=60514]
[lawrence-newsletter]