A Super Bowl In Pittsburgh

[supersteeler]

[url]http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/3423848-74/bowl-super-pittsburgh#axzz2K71SpMAb[/url]


While it's unlikely I wonder why they can have one in N.J. but not in other cold climates. Before they even decided to host a SB in N.J, I thought it should of been done years ago.
In these tough economic times hosting a Super Bowl brings a ton of cash into the City, one like the Burgh could use an economic boost as I'm sure others can too.

I guess they will use N.J as a test to see if its feasible to have some future SB's in cold weather City's, I hope it works out so a City like the Burgh could have one.

[url]http://pix.mdmpix.com/680/2009/2009-08-29_011/West-End-Overlook-of-Pittsburgh-PA.jpg[/url]

[Mister Pittsburgh]

I doubt Heinz Field has the seating capacity. Would be cool if the birthplace of pro football got one though.

[fezziwig]

I doubt Heinz Field has the seating capacity. Would be cool if the birthplace of pro football got one though.

Great take on this with the birth place ! I'm sure the seating, hotels etc are apart of this all. This shouldn't be the case in my opinion. The Super Bowl should visit a different city each season in my opinion. They'll get their money despite the seating capacity.
Since Goodell has taken over, no one has ever claimed the NFL is fair or run without bias.

[7 UP]

Having the Super Bowl in any cold weather city is just one of many HORRIBLE ideas brought to fruition by Rodger Dodger. I could care less about revenue. What about the integrity of the game? Would Pittsburgh or New England not have a huge advantage over New Orleans or Atlanta in a February blizzard game in New York?

[supersteeler]

Great take on this with the birth place ! I'm sure the seating, hotels etc are apart of this all. This shouldn't be the case in my opinion. The Super Bowl should visit a different city each season in my opinion. They'll get their money despite the seating capacity.
Since Goodell has taken over, no one has ever claimed the NFL is fair or run without bias.

This is what I thought for years, since they all conrtibute to the revenue stream why can't it be done.
As for the Burgh they are working on adding more seats, but since the day HeiNZ Field was built, I thought why didn't they make it an 80,000 capacity stadium in the first place?
There is a waiting list for season tickets so I'm sure they would fill that stadium with no problem, now they want to add seats.

Anyway, I do give Goodell credit for trying the cold weather venue, this is a first and could lead to other City's hosting the big game. As the article stated, could you imagine the 50th, SB being played in the Burgh, and with the Steelers in it. Boy that would be awesome, and as I said a boost to the local economy.

From what I'm hearing they are planning more hotels and the North Side of Pittsburgh is being renovated with that in mind.
That sight, comming out of the Fort Pitt Tunnels is awesome for someone who hasen't visited the Burgh, the entire City openS up in front of your eyes its like.... BOOM!

[pfelix73]

They are having 2nd thoughts about all of the logistics for this NY SB already. I read somewhere that there may be no halftime show or a limited one because of the cold weather. doh.

[fezziwig]

Having the Super Bowl in any cold weather city is just one of many HORRIBLE ideas brought to fruition by Rodger Dodger. I could care less about revenue. What about the integrity of the game? Would Pittsburgh or New England not have a huge advantage over New Orleans or Atlanta in a February blizzard game in New York?

These teams play in the cold anyother time when scheduled that way or if they are a cold weather team to start with. I do agree about if a blizzard would rush in to the area and shut the city down and prevent fans from attending. Not only that you could possibly have airports shut down and what have you. And once again while sitting the fezziwig fence I go back to the same thought of, it's everything these teams deal with throughout the season so why not the Super Bowl. It will always be a topic of discussion or arguement.

[Eich]

Imagine a Super Bowl with high winds, lots of snow/ice and sub-zero temperatures. I think the result would be miserable for every single person involved, from the players to the viewers.

If you want to host the Super Bowl, you should build a dome.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

I agree that it 'SHOULD' be hosted in warm weather cities or domes. However, if they are going to start having it in open air outdoor stadiums in the north in February, then it has to be open to every NFL city that has the venues to host such an event, and not just limited to certain ones. Pittsburgh has all the necessary ammenities other than the seating. Get on the ball Rooney's! Should of put seating in the closed end upon its initial construction!

[7 UP]

These teams play in the cold anyother time when scheduled that way or if they are a cold weather team to start with. I do agree about if a blizzard would rush in to the area and shut the city down and prevent fans from attending. Not only that you could possibly have airports shut down and what have you. And once again while sitting the fezziwig fence I go back to the same thought of, it's everything these teams deal with throughout the season so why not the Super Bowl. It will always be a topic of discussion or arguement.

The difference is in the Super Bowl weather can be avoided, by hosting the game at fair weather locations. The NFL has an obligation to put teams on as even a playing field as possible in the leagues biggest game. This obligation is not only to the teams, but to the fans as well.

[feltdizz]

stupid idea... who wants to watch the last game of the year in 20 degree weather? not me...

[Mister Pittsburgh]

By [EMAIL="dkovacevic@tribweb.com?subject=RE:%20Kovace vic:%20Why%20Super%20Bowl%20L%20%20should%20be%20P ittsburgh%27s%20story%20on%20TribLIVE.com"]Dejan Kovacevic[/EMAIL]

Published: Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Updated 39 minutes ago

A year from now, they'll be playing the first Super Bowl in a cold-weather city with an open-air stadium.
And it won't be in pro football's birthplace.
It won't be in the home of the franchise with six Lombardi Trophies, still more than anyone else.
It won't be in the back yard of the family that's done as much as anyone to make the NFL *- and the Super Bowl - the multibillion-dollar monolith it's become.
It won't be in Pittsburgh.
It'll be in East Rutherford, N.J. The one after that will be in Phoenix. And the one after that, the landmark 50th edition, the one that would make such a fine fit for a city that loves its football like perhaps no other, that'll probably wind up elsewhere, too.
Remind me, please: Why is that?
Let's cut through a reasons-Pittsburgh-can't-have-a-Super-Bowl checklist, if you will ...
Problem: No dome.
Response: No duh. But who cares?
It was 33 degrees and cloudy this past Sunday at MetLife Stadium, next year's site.
Oh, the humanity.
Roger Goodell himself laughed off weather worries last week in New Orleans: "Football is made to be played in the elements. Some of our most classic games were played in extreme weather conditions. We know them all, the ‘Ice Bowl,' some of the games that I look back as a fan and say, ‘That was fun.' "
Exactly. Fun.
It was 26 degrees with a few snow flurries on the North Shore this past Sunday. What a scene that would make for a Super Bowl.
It would be fairer, too, if you ask me. There's no reason that dome and warm-weather teams should hold any advantage.
Problem: Stadium's too small.
Response: Maybe now, but not for long.
Although the [URL="http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/"] Steelers[/URL] are currently trading lawyerly barbs with the Sports and Exhibition Authority over who pays, they plan to add 3,000 seats to the south end of Heinz Field. That would raise capacity to 68,000, or just 3,000 less than the Superdome crowd this past Sunday.
Problem: The cold might affect all the run-up events.
Response: Here?
Temps were below freezing at the two Super Bowls before this past one, in Dallas and Indianapolis. I was at both. They were plenty uncomfortable when walking outside.
That might happen here, too, but here's guessing we're far better equipped - they couldn't clear snow and ice off even the major highways in Dallas - and far less likely to be discouraged by it. Ask the poor pigs being roasted every Sunday in the Heinz Field lots.
Problem: The logistics wouldn't work.
Response: Wrong.
In the past half-dozen years, we've hosted the G-20 Summit, Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, the NHL's Winter Classic, the NHL Entry Draft and the NCAA basketball tournament. The first two alone provide all the proof anyone would need.
Just to be sure, though, I checked with the folks at Visit Pittsburgh, who make no secret of their wish to have a Super Bowl here.
"Are you kidding?" executive director Jason Fulvi boomed over the phone. "We'd love it. And we absolutely could handle it."
The Times-Picayune of New Orleans reported a near-sellout of the 50,000 hotel rooms in that city and across Louisiana and Mississippi. Visit Pittsburgh says we have 24,000 rooms in Allegheny County alone, not counting Cranberry and Southpointe.
"We've found that people will stay 1-2 hours away from a Super Bowl site," Fulvi said, "and even that wouldn't be necessary here."
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center could house the NFL Experience, the Super Bowl's main pregame event. The center's 1.45 million square feet is roughly double the size used in Indianapolis last year.
Transportation is never ideal here, but the new North Shore Connector subway line between Downtown and the stadiums will ease the most critical possible chokepoint.
Anything else?
"Let's put it this way: If the Steelers said they'd get behind it, if the Super Bowl came to Pittsburgh, we would do everything we could to make it amazing experience," Fulvi said. "I wish I was the guy making that call. But that has to come from the Steelers."
Problem: No one's pushing for it.
Response: Now we're getting warm.
I sought comment from the Steelers. A spokesman said the Rooneys were out of town and couldn't be reached.
I sought comment from the NFL. No reply.
If there's any push whatsoever for a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh, not even the region's top tourism execs are aware of it.
Again, why is that?
The Steelers benefited from tax dollars in the $282 million construction of Heinz Field and now seek $26 million more to expand. And yet there isn't a whiff of interest in a risk-free bid for an event that rakes in $500 million-plus for a regional economy?
Make no mistake: Based on all the above, plus the franchise's clout, it could happen. Even in time for the golden Super Bowl L.
The NFL might be happy to tick off James Harrison, but not the Rooneys.

[url]http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/3423848-74/bowl-super-pittsburgh#axzz2K35e79jf[/url]

[ikestops85]

They played the 1967 NFL championship game in Green Bay when the temperature was a balmy -15 degrees with a wind chill making it feel even colder. It is affectionately called the "Ice Bowl" and is considered one of the greatest games of all times. It made an obscure right guard into one of the most well known players in football lore.

It was so cold it is said when the official put the metal whistle to his lips to start the game it froze to his lips. In order to remove the whistle from his lips he tore the skin right off causing them to bleed. Instead of the blood scabbing over it just froze.

So yes ... let's play the Super Bowl in the cold weather cities. I'll watch from home.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

I sat through the AFCCG at Heinz Field in Ben's rookie season when it was like 15 below zero. I was thirsty in the middle of the first half so went and bought a beer. It was frozen by the time I walked back to my seat. It was cold, but it wasn't like I was miserable or anything.

[RuthlessBurgher]

The locations for the next two Super Bowls have been set (New York next year and then Arizona). The finalists for the two after that have been determined (San Francisco versus Miami for Super Bowl L and the loser versus Houston for Super Bowl LI). That leaves Super Bowl LII as the next NFL title game that is generally in play.

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/06/indy-preparing-a-bid-for-super-bowl-lii/[/URL]