Chicago & Philadelphia Reveal Super Bowl Hosting Interest

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has reiterated his interest in hosting a Super Bowl at Soldier Field.

Emanuel’s spokesman says the mayor and the commissioner talked recently and discussed having the Super Bowl and College Draft in Chicago.

“The mayor and Roger Goodell spoke last week on a number of matters, sale ” spokesman Tom Alexander told ESPNChicago.com. “They speak or see one another on occasion. The mayor spoke with the commissioner about several things that would allow Chicago and the NFL to expand their already wonderful relationship. Chicago is a great sports town and a great football town, adiposity and the mayor wants to build on these strengths.”

The NFL will have the draft at Radio City Music Hall through 2014, but after that it’s possible the event could move out of New York City.

If next year’s New Jersey Super Bowl goes off without a hitch, Chicago may be one of several cold-weather cities with outdoor stadiums that bid for future Super Bowls. 

Eagles Stadium Improvements Ignite Super Bowl Interest

The Eagles have unveiled plans to expand and improve Lincoln Financial Field, with an eye on convincing the rest of the league that Philadelphia could host an outdoor Super Bowl.

Plans include expanding the stadium by 1,600 seats, adding HD video boards, making wi-fi available to fans and installing bridges to connect both sides of the upper concourse.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie says he’ll be keeping an eye on next year’s New York/New Jersey Super Bowl and hoping that it shows an outdoor stadium in a cold city can host the game.

“We’re going to watch that very carefully,” Lurie said, via PhillyBurbs.com. “I’m sure we’ve all been at phenomenal football games outside in December and January. So, absolutely, root for a decent-weather day in New York and New Jersey and we think we’ve got a great city here to host it, a great stadium, and I’m sure others feel the same way.”

The Super Bowls have been awarded to Arizona in 2015, San Francisco in 2016 and Houston in 2017, so the earliest Chicago or Philadelphia could host the game is 2018.