Continuing its trend of playing the Super Bowl in new stadiums built partly with taxpayer dollars, the NFL today awarded the 2018 Super Bowl to Minneapolis.
The owners of the 32 NFL franchises made the decision at a meeting in Atlanta, voting for Minneapolis over New Orleans and Indianapolis as the site of the game.
The decision came on the fourth ballot.
The game will be played in a new indoor stadium that is under construction and scheduled to open in 2016.
Atlanta wasn’t eligible to seek the 2018 Super Bowl because the NFL requires a stadium to be open for two football seasons before it hosts the event. The new Falcons stadium is scheduled to open in 2017, one year after the Vikings stadium. That means the 2019 Super Bowl is the first for which the new Atlanta stadium could be considered.
Atlanta has begun the long process of bidding for the 2019 event, Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Monday night. The NFL is expected to choose the 2019 site next May.
The choice of Minneapolis for the 2018 game reflects the NFL owners’ long track record of putting its marquee event in new stadiums. The 2011 Super Bowl was played in a stadium the Cowboys opened in 2009, the 2012 Super Bowl in a stadium the Colts opened in 2008 and this year’s Super Bowl in a stadium the Giants and Jets opened in 2010. The 49ers will host the 2016 Super Bowl in a stadium that will open this year.
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