Cities like New Orleans, Miami, and Los Angeles have hosted their fair share of Super Bowl games for obvious reasons: Ideal weather conditions, popular tourist cities, nice football venues…you name it.
Well, the NFL hasn’t always made the right call when it comes to choosing Super Bowl host cities. They’ve struck out more than you think, all while curiously neglecting other fascinating candidates that are long overdue to host the big game.
Here are the five worst cities to have hosted a Super Bowl and five cities that need to host one.
Would you like the Super Bowl to be played in one of these cities?
Worst: Dallas–Fort Worth
As one of America’s largest and most populated cities, it’s hard to comprehend the idea of Dallas-Fort Worth screwing up the status as a Super Bowl host city. But such is life with Jerry Jones in charge, we guess.
One year after the Cowboys’ shiny new stadium opened in 2009, they got to host Super Bowl 45 between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. The stadium’s opening feels like a lifetime ago, but remember, this was once a top-of-the-art and never-before-seen luxurious stadium.
If you watched the game on TV, then lucky you because hundreds of paid customers endured a letdown of an experience brought on by poor preparation and planning.
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The NFL planned to use 15,000 temporary seats for Super Bowl 45 at the Dallas Cowboys’ home venue, AT&T Stadium. However, over 1,000 of the temporary seats weren’t ready in time for the game, and more than 400 fans were left without a seat.
Officials scrambled to find seats for the 400-something customers. Some had to watch it on television inside the stadium’s North Field Club, but they were also offered the chance to watch from standing rooms. Yippee.
The NFL tried to compensate the fans by refunding them $2,400 — triple the value of their $800 tickets. But does a couple grand really make up for the league ruining the once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl experience for those fans?
Additionally, Dallas-Fort Worth was hit by awful snow and icy roads during Super Bowl week. During the actual game itself, seven people were injured — and one man was briefly hospitalized — after slabs of ice fell from the AT&T Stadium roof and onto the plaza below.
That was a decade-and-a-half ago, and the NFL still hasn’t shown any interest whatsoever in bringing the Super Bowl back to Dallas-Fort Worth. Gee, I wonder why?
And as a side note, does Jerry Jones really deserve that luxury after what he’s done to single-handedly destroy this franchise? The NFL can stop stroking his ego and tell him to focus on building a championship-caliber team before granting Dallas another Super Bowl game.
Needs To Host: Chicago
The Windy City is home to the NFL’s oldest stadium, Soldier Field, which has been the Chicago Bears’ venue since 1924. Now, Soldier Field is by no means a logical field to host a Super Bowl — but you can bet that Chicago will be in line to host the big game sometime after their new stadium is built.
After years of exhausting negotiations and planning, the Bears finally received approval to build a new stadium on Chicago’s Museum Campus. The stadium is scheduled to open in 2028 and will have a capacity of 65,000, though it can expand up to 77,000 spectators for major events.
And yes, the new stadium will have a translucent roof. So, the league cannot use Chicago’s freezing cold weather and conditions as an excuse.
Chicago is the nation’s third-biggest city by population, behind only New York City and Los Angeles. As one of America’s most popular cities for tourists, Chicago is well-suited to put on a week-long Super Bowl party.
Chicago is renowned for its museums, historic sites, and signature dishes — not to mention that you can enjoy a nice ride along the Chicago River.
So, to quote Bill Lumbergh from “Office Space” here: If the NFL could just go ahead and assign Chicago a Super Bowl inside its own venue as soon as possible….that would be greaaaaaat.
Worst: Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area has hosted two Super Bowls, and it was a pain in the butt for the fans and city organizers on both occasions. No wonder it’s almost been two decades since Motor City last hosted the big game…
There was plenty of snow at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, for Super Bowl 16 between the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals. Good thing those in attendance were saved by the roof, but it was nonetheless a painful commute to the stadium for everyone.
But Super Bowl 40, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, acted as the final straw for the Motor City hosting Super Bowls.
The NFL granted Detroit Super Bowl 40 in 2000, six years before the big game. City officials had planned to construct multiple new casino hotels and renovate the city’s historic Book-Cadillac hotel. Another historic hotel, the Madison-Lenox, was also to be used for the big game.
However, legal matters prevented the construction of the casino hotels. The Madison-Lenox was demolished in 2005 despite significant pushes by officials to keep it up and about for the Super Bowl. The renovations for the Book Cadillac were also pushed back.
So folks coming to Detroit — a city with a bad reputation and tragic criminal history to begin with — had to book hotels in the city’s suburbs. In short, the city’s entire planning was an all-around disaster.
Needs To Host: Seattle
Emerald City hasn’t hosted a Super Bowl for several obvious reasons, the main one being that the Seahawks play in an outdoor venue and in a climate with chilly winters.
Also, Seattle itself isn’t that big of a “major city” compared to Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami, or Las Vegas — especially when it comes to the tourism industry. But if the NFL can go to places like East Rutherford, Tempe, or Jacksonville, for that matter, they can certainly head up to the Pacific Northwest.
Lumen Field — the home of the Seattle Seahawks since 2002 — is held in high regard as one of the NFL’s best stadiums.
Ask any NFL player, and they’ll tell you how difficult it is to play in the atmosphere brought on by the “12th man.” Now, bring fans all across the planet to Lumen Field for a Super Bowl, and you’d have a crowd like no other.
Seattle also has one of the nation’s strongest public transit systems, with two stations on the Link light rail system right by Lumen Field. And compared to most other NFL stadiums, the surrounding areas in Seattle have plenty of parking options at reasonable prices — so commuting wouldn’t be a problem to the Super Bowl whatsoever.
In terms of tourist activities, the Pike Place Market, Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture, and a walk along the Seattle Waterfront are the must-do activities here.
Cold weather and outdoor venue be damned. It’s long overdue for the NFL to have a Super Bowl in Seattle.
Worst: Indianapolis
The cities of Indianapolis, Houston, and Glendale sent bids to host Super Bowl 46 for the 2011 season. In a surprise, Indy wound up winning the bid despite the state of Indiana never hosting a Super Bowl—on top of the location being awfully small compared to other major cities.
Well, the NFL probably should have done some homework before granting Super Bowl 46 — a can’t-miss rematch of Super Bowl 42 between Tom Brady’s New England Patriots and Eli Manning’s underdog New York Giants.
With limited hotel options around Lucas Oil Stadium, rooms sold out quickly, leaving other travelers scrambling to find a place to stay. In fact, it was reported that some hotel rooms in downtown Indianapolis cost a ridiculous $4,000 a night!
Some fans had to stay out-of-state, with many traveling via bus from Chicago just to attend the Super Bowl. Not exactly ideal planning, huh?
As nice as Lucas Oil Stadium is, it’s no surprise that the NFL isn’t feeling the urge to return to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl any time soon. Not with so many larger cities available — especially ones with more accommodations around.
Needs To Host: Philadelphia
Even though Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are home to two of the NFL’s most popular and historic franchises, the state of Pennsylvania has actually never hosted a Super Bowl.
But if we’re being realistic, a smaller major city like Pittsburgh isn’t a logical candidate to host a Super Bowl. Philadelphia, on the other hand, has a population of over 1.5 million people and is well-equipped to host the Super Bowl.
We know what everyone says about Eagles fans and the city of Philly being absolutely ruthless to opposing teams and their supporters. But let’s not let that take away the intense energy and passion the City of Brotherly Love has for its sports teams.
Having opened in 2003, the Eagles’ home turf of Lincoln Financial Field certainly isn’t new. But it’s still one of the best NFL stadiums around, with a top-quality playing surface compared to most other outdoor venues in cold climates.
Being one of America’s most historic cities, Philadelphia offers so much for tourists to do as well. Quite frankly, the NFL has no reason not to eventually hold a Super Bowl here.
Worst: East Rutherford
As most football fans know, the New York Giants and New York Jets actually play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium. East Rutherford is only about 13 miles away from New York City, or roughly a 30-minute drive in normal conditions.
Because of the MetLife Stadium’s location, the NFL and city officials conducted a plan called “Mass Transit Super Bowl” for Super Bowl 48 between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. The plan was so big that it even had its own Wikipedia page.
With over 400,000 folks coming to town for the big game, “Mass Transit Super Bowl” was a plan that encouraged fans to use public transportation during the week’s festivities. More buses and rail services were implemented to make commuting easier for everyone.
But significant overcrowding on the public transit systems before and after the game caused lengthy delays for fans — with some reportedly having to wait up to 90 minutes. New Jersey Transit executive director James Weinstein faced so much backlash that he actually resigned two weeks after the Super Bowl.
Plus, this game marked the first Super Bowl played in an outdoor venue in a cold climate. Not exactly the most appealing conditions for a spectator.
Needs To Host: Foxborough-Greater Boston Metropolitan Area
Depending on who you ask, you may not find a more passionate city that lives and breathes its sports as much as Boston.
The city of champions in the 21st century is home to the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and Boston Bruins — four historic model organizations with giant fanbases across the United States and Canada.
The Patriots’ home venue, Gillette Stadium, is located in the town of Foxborough in Norfolk County. Foxborough is about 29 miles southwest of Boston and approximately a 40-minute drive on a good day.
Yes, Foxborough is a town and not a big city. Yes, Gillette Stadium is practically located in the middle of nowhere. Yes, Boston is as ice-cold as it gets in the winter for major American cities. So what?
Super Bowl week could be set up all around Boston and its greater metro area. If transportation to Gillette Stadium is a concern, why not run a shuttle bus service or something to make it easier for fans?
Gillette is a beautiful stadium with a high-quality playing surface. The good folks of Boston are overdue for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to celebrate Super Bowl week in their own city. So go make it happen already, NFL.
Worst: Jacksonville
It’s already been 20 years since Jacksonville, Florida, hosted its only Super Bowl game. And it’d be a shocker if the league ever went there again for the big game.
Super Bowl 39 was played between the dynastic New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, two of the league’s most hated teams as is. Add in the fact it was a stale venue of what is now EverBank Stadium in a city that barely had over 950,000 residents at the time, and this was just an all-around forgettable Super Bowl for non-Patriots fans.
As a tiny city compared to other Super Bowl hosts, Jacksonville quickly ran out of hotel rooms to accommodate the nearly 80,000 fans who attended the game. They miscalculated how many out-of-town spectators were coming, and it was reported to be around 120,000 over expected.
And get this: With limited hotel space, Jacksonville city officials actually set up four cruise ships to serve as temporary hotels to accommodate the guests. Good grief.
Oh, and to put a cherry on top of the gameday experience itself for fans, toilets at the stadium overflowed mightily and created some of the worst stenches imaginable, according to fans at the game.
Other than that, Jacksonville wasn’t the worst host city, we suppose!!!
Needs To Host: Green Bay
We don’t care how freezing cold it is in Green Bay during winter. We don’t care if some of you hate the frozen tundra and playing surface at Lambeau Field. We don’t care if Green Bay itself is a small city. IT’S LONG OVERDUE for Titletown to host ONE Super Bowl.
This is America’s most historic football team. The Lombardi Trophy, for crying out loud, is named after legendary Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. The Packers won the first two Super Bowl games. This city and organization resemble everything about the NFL and Super Bowl history.
Let Green Bay get one Super Bowl. Let the ice-cold conditions and frozen tundra be a factor in one game. This city deserves it, regardless of what hurdles the NFL fears.
