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Charlotte too boring to host a super bowl?


Bradley89

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It's in the top 10 in terms of seats, with 73,298. Buffalo has 73,967

Its actually large compared to the past stadiums used for the superbowl... Its larger than Georgia Dome, Ford Field, Super Dome, much larger than the metrodome, university of phoenix stadium and raymond james stadium (10,000 less capacity, in comparison), and around the same size as Land Shark Stadium. Capacity is very much so not an issue, seeing that its larger than all but two of the stadiums that have held the super bowl in the past 10 years...

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Its actually large compared to the past stadiums used for the superbowl... Its larger than Georgia Dome, Ford Field, Super Dome, much larger than the metrodome, university of phoenix stadium and raymond james stadium (10,000 less capacity, in comparison), and around the same size as Land Shark Stadium. Capacity is very much so not an issue, seeing that its larger than all but two of the stadiums that have held the super bowl in the past 10 years...

It's also still in the running to be part of the us bid for the world cup.

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While our downtown has come a long way in a few years I don't think we are anywhere near ready to host a Super Bowl. What are people going to do? We have no substantial retail at all. Not a football fan here so maybe I don't know demo well enough but I just don't think Epicentre is enough to cut it.

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While our downtown has come a long way in a few years I don't think we are anywhere near ready to host a Super Bowl. What are people going to do? We have no substantial retail at all. Not a football fan here so maybe I don't know demo well enough but I just don't think Epicentre is enough to cut it.

The NFL will not allow a city with an outdoor stadium to host a Super bowl because of potential weather issues. Name another city that does not have an indoor facility in a cold weather climate that has hosted one in the last 20 years.

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While our downtown has come a long way in a few years I don't think we are anywhere near ready to host a Super Bowl. What are people going to do? We have no substantial retail at all. Not a football fan here so maybe I don't know demo well enough but I just don't think Epicentre is enough to cut it.

Hosting a Super Bowl has very little to do with retail as it does climate and/or facility. Jacksonville hosted a Super Bowl in 2005 and actually had to bring in boats to be set up as hotels to give them enough for visitors. If Charlotte were to ever have a facility like Ford Field, Lucas Oil Stadium, etc there would be one hosted here no question. Look at Glendale, AZ. They had one two years ago and the stadium is in the middle of nowhere.

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The NFL will not allow a city with an outdoor stadium to host a Super bowl because of potential weather issues. Name another city that does not have an indoor facility in a cold weather climate that has hosted one in the last 20 years.

Interestingly enough, the NFL is going to allow the Jets/Giants new stadium, which will open next year, to bid for the right to host the 2014 Super Bowl. This is an outdoor only facility and the average Jan/Feb temperature in the NYC area is in the 30s.

Perhaps this is a one time thing or perhaps the NFL may be interested in moving back to its roots when its championship games were routinely played in cold weather until the creation of the Super Bowl in 1967.

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Interestingly enough, the NFL is going to allow the Jets/Giants new stadium, which will open next year, to bid for the right to host the 2014 Super Bowl. This is an outdoor only facility and the average Jan/Feb temperature in the NYC area is in the 30s.

Perhaps this is a one time thing or perhaps the NFL may be interested in moving back to its roots when its championship games were routinely played in cold weather until the creation of the Super Bowl in 1967.

From what I've heard NFL is definitely interested in returning to the roots of the game when it comes to the Super Bowl. If you all remember a few years ago they had an NFL tv campaign with the players poking fun of arena football, baseball and other sports and ridiculing that they have rain delays.

I won't be surprised to see NYC area get the games first and then the floodgates will be open. For Charlotte, the weather will not be an issue, nor will the stadium, or things to do in the area. The hotel situation is another story.

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Not saying that Charlotte is anywhere near the status quo for hotel room numbers, but I'd be interested to see how we compare now with the new onslaught of hotels around uptown, concord mills/speedway, etc. to other cities that have recently hosted the SB. What number would the NFL see as sufficient and how far off are we?

As far as proximity to retail goes, Charlotte is fine. If you go to the stadium in Jacksonville, you have a pretty lengthy walk to get to any sort of concentrated retail.

If the NFL does end up opening up the game to colder weather, Charlotte will be on an extremely long list of cities that have been waiting for their chance too, all with ample hotel space. Plain and simple, Charlotte would be lucky to get the game within a decade of the NFL cutting the temperature restrictions if it were to happen... and I'm an optimist.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wholeheartedly agree about Jacksonville. I've never been to Tampa, but downtown Jacksonville did not compare to Charlotte a couple of years ago when I went down to see the Jags play the Panthers. On the other hand, on that particular day, the Panthers did not compare to the Jags...it was a loss. Charlotte def. knows how to host an event. We got high marks 16 (give or take) years ago when we hosted the Final Four, and things have changed drastically since then uptown. Speed Street always gets high marks as well as any ACC tournament we ever host. While the Super Bowl takes it to another level, I am totally confident that the city would take their efforts to another level as well.

To me, Charlotte's weather would be fine in Jan/Feb to host the game, but I'm not a decision maker. I wish there was a way to get a definitive answer on this. The number of hotel rooms will continue to grow, and if there's ever a serious bid for the Super Bowl, we can get creative in solving that problem. Jacksonville brought in cruise ships to solve their lack of hotel rooms (extremely smart idea). I think we could at least match that level of problem solving if need be.

Just to stand up for Jacksonville here, until I see some concrete numbers, I'm going to assume they (the metro area) have far more hotel rooms than Charlotte simply because they are a coastal city. The hotels may not all be downtown, but the Jax beaches have plenty of them, and plenty to do. They have a lot of things to do near by with Fernandina, Amelia Island and St Augustine and the beach an easy drive from downtown. Not to mention their cooler urban centers outside of downtown like San Marco. Remember, most cities have their stadiums out in the middle of a no-mans land of parking lots, so people are going to go elsewhere for their entertainment, and Jacksonville is no exception. The Gator Bowl is off by itself.

IMO, if Charlotte ever gets the opportunity to host a SuperBowl, we will be in a somewhat unique position to provide entertainment, shopping, and restaurants, and hotels with in a reasonable walking distance of the stadium. If its far enough en the future then we'll probably have some hotels in South End along the LRT line too.

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Just to stand up for Jacksonville here, until I see some concrete numbers, I'm going to assume they (the metro area) have far more hotel rooms than Charlotte simply because they are a coastal city.

That's probably not too far from the truth. I think the next logical step for Charlotte now, since we have a Ritz-Carlton, is to get a W hotel. I can think of too perfect spots :) 1) Next to the Duke Energy Center where the condo tower was supposed to go or 2) Where TWELVE was set to go next to Catalyst.

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That's probably not too far from the truth. I think the next logical step for Charlotte now, since we have a Ritz-Carlton, is to get a W hotel. I can think of too perfect spots smile.gif 1) Next to the Duke Energy Center where the condo tower was supposed to go or 2) Where TWELVE was set to go next to Catalyst.

Yes I agree. I think a hotel would be a better solution than the original condo tower that was supposed to built on top of the Mint next to Duke Energy Center.

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  • 4 months later...

So much for the line drawn for open air stadiums. The 2014 Super Bowl will be played in the new Meadowlands stadium in NYC. The average temperature range there in early Feb is 16 to 57 degrees. This let's a lot of open air stadiums, and their respective cities, know that they are not truly out of the running due to geography and the lack of a dome.

Not saying Charlotte is ready, but at least this hurdle is out of the way.

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Yeah and what was most interesting is some of the quotes from the NFL about returning to roots and how this would not be a one-off event. There was also talk of Baltimore and Philadelphia planning future bids.

I absolutely agree that Charlotte isn't ready today for the Bowl, but by late 2010's and early 2020's I wouldn't be surprised to see the city get a shot.

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So much for the line drawn for open air stadiums. The 2014 Super Bowl will be played in the new Meadowlands stadium in NYC. The average temperature range there in early Feb is 16 to 57 degrees. This let's a lot of open air stadiums, and their respective cities, know that they are not truly out of the running due to geography and the lack of a dome.

Not saying Charlotte is ready, but at least this hurdle is out of the way.

Until 2014, the cold weather Super Bowl is considered a one-off event. The only reason NY got it was because the Jets and Giants sunk over a $1 billion into their new stadium and the NFL has given Super Bowls to many new expensive stadiums in the past decade or so (Arizona, Detroit, Houston, Dallas). You may also remember that there was fleeting post-9/11 sentiment to give NYC a Super Bowl to help resuscitate its battered economy.

I think if the weather cooperates for the NY Super Bowl and it turns out to be a hit with fans, TV viewers and critics, you will see a cold weather site Super Bowl on a fairly regular basis. Even if the weather doesn't cooperate and it's still a hit with fans, it will likely be done again (think NHL's Winter Classic). Unfortunately, I think the league will only stick to larger northern cities with ample amenities - NYC, Chicago, Washington, perhaps Boston. I don't see a small "cold weather" city getting the game for many years to come.

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SmellyCat is correct in that this NY/NJ Super Bowl is just billed as a one time exception for an outdoor game. This doesn't really open the door for Charlotte at all, IMO. The only way it would become a possibility is if a new stadium is built or BofA got a major renovation with a roof. I'm very skeptical on whether or not there would be other outdoor games in northern cities. This is more about the NFL showcasing that new stadium and the sentimental aspect of it by allowing them to host a game post-9/11. To me it takes away from what the Super Bowl is all about... a mild to warm temperature game where weather is not a factor. The two best teams playing where one doesn't have the advantage over the other. But I digress :)

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I love Charlotte and think it would be great for the city, but part of me does not want the Super Bowl in Charlotte. I went to the Super Bowl in San Diego in the late 90's and it seemed to me that 75% (and that's a low estimate) of the people in town for the game could care less about football. Most of the people were there for the parties, the nightlife, the media, business, to be seen, etc. etc. Now, the stadium holds about 70k fans, but there were about triple that (maybe a lot more) in the city for the experience. So the weather is definetly a factor. New York may be able to pull off a Super Bowl with cold / winter weather because of the other things New York has to offer. So, my heart would love to see Charlotte in the spotlight of the Super Bowl if it went well. However, I would not want to see Charlotte getting ripped on National TV if the weather was horrible, and people complaining about outside events. I know first hand that people were not that thrilled with the rain in Atlanta, Jacksonville in general, and the cold in Detroit. That's why cities like New Orleans and Miami can pull it off, they have good weather and lots of things to do+lots of nightlife. Tampa, Phoenix, and Southern California are in the same boat, warm, sunny, and lots of parties. One day maybe Charlotte. I hope the Super Bowl in New York goes fine, but you throw in some seriously low tempatures and some heavy snow / wind and the 75% of the people I mentioned above are not going to be having so much fun..It could be a disaster even for New York. Just my 2 cents.

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  • 8 months later...

I agree. The two biggest reasons Charlotte can't host the Super Bowl is that Charlotte doesn't have a dome and not enough hotel rooms in the area. If the Super Bowl were held in Charlotte today, hotel rooms would be booked as far a way as Greensboro or Columbia. Thats simply too far away for game fans to stay and people who can afford those super bowl tickets may not want to stay in a Motel 6. It appears as though team owners of the Panthers have informally discussed a major renovation or a new stadium for the Panthers even though Bank of America Stadium is only 15 years old. But in stadium years, Bank of America Stadium is approaching the golden years. In about 15 years, Bank of America stadium will be 30 years old and will likely be outdated by then. Even though Charlotte's stadium is only 15 years old, its already among the oldest in the NFL now. My guess is owners would likely lean towards a new stadium in about 10 years and it will probably be a dome stadium so the Queen City can host the Super Bowl. In about 10 or 15 years Charlotte should have more hotel rooms by then as well. There is one problem though. By the time Charlotte gets a new NFL stadium, it probably won't be uptown. The reason is limited available land. There is about 20 acres of land available near Bank of America Stadium on West Morehead St but that land will likely get snapped up by developers long before there is even serious talk for a new stadium. So Charlotte may be put in the position to either renovate the current stadium to keep it downtown, or build a new dome stadium with a retractable roof not in the downtown area so the city can one day host the Super Bowl. Its a tough call unless they can figure out how to put a dome over Bank of America Stadium, but I doubt that's possible because then you might as well build a new stadium. You could demolish the current stadium and build a new one in its place but where would the Panthers play for 3 years while its being constructed? But right now a lot of NFL teams are envious of the new stadium in Dallas and the New Meadowlands Stadium near New York City. With those new stadiums they have more ways to generate revenue and that contributes in raising the salary cap. That pretty much forces many cities to upgrade or build new stadiums.

But this has happened before with Charlotte. When the Charlotte Coliseum opened for Charlotte's new NBA team it was state-of-the-art. In less than 20 years it was already out of date and a new arena with more luxury boxes had to be built. So whispers of a new stadium for the Panthers doesn't surprise me one bit. Thats just the way Charlotte rolls. But You can bet when the time comes for a new stadium to be built, Charlotte will go all out to try to make it the best in the league and it will probably be more than just a stadium but an entire NFL sports and entertainment complex with a 75,000 seat retractable roof stadium, five star hotel, retail, restaurants and other entertainment venues, something to make it a year round destination and provide more revenue for the team owners. That concept would definitely keep Charlotte on the rotation list for super bowls. Thats where the future of NFL stadiums are headed and its going to get super expensive. Unless Charlotte gets a new NFL stadium with a retractable roof, there will be no Super Bowl in Charlotte. This time of year is just to cold in Charlotte to host a Super bowl in an open air stadium and no one wants to spend $500-$3,000 on a ticket to watch a super bowl game in sleet, freezing rain or even snow. The weather is just too unpredictable here in North Carolina this time of year.

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Found it fascinating that "Arlington" was consistently used as the Superbowl location. Bet Dallas officials weren't super thrilled about that.

Yea, both Arlington and "North Texas"... I pay a lot of attention to sports in general and will say that I could probably count on one hand the number of times I heard anyone refer to "Dallas" as the location the last several weeks.

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Boring has nothing to do with it as it isn't the situation here. It is all about a dome. The super bowl will not be played in a place where it could snow unless there is a dome.

Or if your city is named "New York City"... The new Meadowlands stadium, which is open air and technically in NJ, will host the Super Bowl in 2014. Outside of that yea, the only way Charlotte has a chance at a Super Bowl is to have a domed stadium.

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A quick Google search yields 31,000 hotel rooms in the Indianapolis metro so statistically speaking I believe that Charlotte could host a Super Bowl just fine from that aspect. I don't see the wisdom in pushing for a stadium that can host the Super Bowl when in reality you may only get to host once or twice every 20 years. With more cities opting to build domed stadiums, there will be more options than going to New Orleans and Miami every few years. Plus, our weather here in the Fall is (mostly) great for football, outdoors. If they didn't go dome in New York or Phillie, why the heck here? I would support a renovation to keep the stadium in its current spot. It's always been pretty plain jane, but when it first opened it was widely regarded as a "classic" no frills football venue. If the bones are good, maybe Richardson can add on some of the whiz bang features that the NFL craves. There is certainly more to work with that the old Coliseum on Tyvola, that's for sure.

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