Bring the Big Game Back
Stadium renovations will still be the key to Miami hosting another Super Bowl
By WILLARD SHEPARD and TODD WRIGHT
Updated 7:31 PM EDT, Mon, Feb 8, 2010
Superbowl XLIV was a big hit with fans and party goers, but will that be enough to keep the Big Game in the Magic City?
"You can imagine how many people had to come in town had to fly here," said Super Bowl Host Committee Char Rodney Barretto.
He called the game “a homerun,” but we won’t hold the inaccurate sports analogy against him.
Barretto is already hard at work trying to persuade the NFL that Miami is what makes the Super Bowl successful. Hard to argue that considering Super Bowl XLIV was the most watched television show in history.
Shots of scenic South Beach and Kim Kardashian had to play some part of the lure of this year’s game.
The NFL championship game could return at the earliest in 2014, but it’s up against some stiff, state-of-the-art competition. The South Florida Super Bowl Comittee has to have a proposal together by April.
New stadiums in Dallas and even cold weather cities like New York threaten to take the super fun away from South Beach.
Community leaders were told in December that unless the stadium is renovated, the NFL will look elsewhere for a Super Bowl home.
Officials quickly devised a plan that would require a lot of dough to get done in a short period of time.
The plan would cost an estimated $250 million to put a new roof to cover the stands and install new seats and bathrooms. That sounds like a good investment when you consider all the money the Super Bowl brings to South Florida.
It's estimated South Florida will profit at least $350 million in economic benefit from the game, and that’s not including the jobs and free tourism advertising from all the media exposure.
The trick for the Super Bowl committee and local politicians will be convincing voters and local businesses that ponying up a little extra cash to keep the NFL coming to South Beach is worth it.
Super Bowl XLIV may have been the perfect advertisement for the job.
First Published: Feb 8, 2010 6:03 PM EDT
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