In February, Miami will host its second Super Bowl in a three-year span.
But the run of NFL title games in South Florida could be in jeopardy, unless upgrades are made to the current stadium located there -- or a new stadium is built.
Frank Supovitz, the league’s senior vice president of events, sounded the alarm Wednesday while speaking to the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.
“You have to look at what the other cities are offering in terms of comfort,” he said, according to the Miami Herald (via SportsBusiness Daily).
Rain marred the last Super Bowl played in Miami, a Colts win over the Bears in January 2007.
“I’m not going to have anyone rained on in North Texas,’' Supovitz said. “They’re not going to get rained on in Indianapolis.”
Apart from a roof, Supovitz said that the stadium in Miami could use modern skyboxes, high-definition lighting, and other amenities.
Per the Herald, there’s a belief that this is standard practice by the NFL, a leverage game aimed at getting a potential host city to sweeten a proposal for a future Super Bowl. Miami currently is in the running for Super Bowl XLVIII, to be played in early 2014.
That said, the Herald reports that Dolphins execs were “stunned” by criticism of the facility from the league in connection with the failed bid for the 2013 game, to be played in New Orleans.
The reality is that, with each new or renovated stadium in a city that typically lands in the Super Bowl rotation, there’s increased pressure on the other cities in the rotation to consider building a new stadium or improving the one they have. It’s a “keeping up with the Joneses” dynamic, but instead of brand-new Buicks and porch swings the difference-makers are gigantic, four-sided HD drive-in movie screens.
And the competition only will increase if/when Ed Roski builds a state-of-the-art stadium in L.A., which instantly will re-enter the Super Bowl rotation.
