Vikings Submit Bid For 2018 Super Bowl
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Minnesota Vikings announced Tuesday they've officially submitted their bid to host Super Bowl LII in 2018.
The Minnesota Super Bowl Bid Committee put together the preliminary pitch and sent it to the NFL. The process took about two months to put together. It's hundreds of pages detailing what would happen in the Twin Cities if the NFL chose to bring the Super Bowl here again.
That includes options for event venues, transportation and parking, lodging, security procedures, practice sites for the teams and more. That's just scratching the surface of the NFL's biggest game of the year and one of the most watched every year around the world.
"Right now the Super Bowl is so much more than just a game. It's really a week-long event, with all these other events taking place in Bloomington, St Paul and Minneapolis," said Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority.
Michele Kelm-Helgen Interview
Kelm-Helgen said the process took about two months to put together, and includes hundreds of pages detailing what would happen if the NFL decides to bring the Super Bowl here again.
The Minnesota Super Bowl Bid Committee is working with more than 180 hotels in the area to guarantee 19,000 rooms for the Super Bowl. They also detailed as many as 48 event venues in Bloomington, Minneapolis and St. Paul that could be used.
State leaders, including Gov. Mark Dayton, signed off on the bid before it was sent to the NFL. The biggest driver for the Super Bowl will be the construction of the team's new stadium, which is expected to be completed in time for the 2016 season.
The Minnesota contingent for the Super Bowl bid will meet later in April with NFL staff in New York City to review the bid and answer any questions. After those meetings and any changes that need to be made, a final bid must be submitted to the NFL by May 7. The final decision for the site of the 2018 Super Bowl will be made at the NFL Owners Meetings in Atlanta, Ga., which are May 19-21.
Minneapolis is competing with Indianapolis and New Orleans for the 2018 Super Bowl. Minneapolis last hosted Super Bowl XXVI in 1992, which was between the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills.
