NFL Selects Atlanta, Miami, LA to Host Super Bowls in 2019-2021

The Miami Super Bowl in 2020 will be the city's record-setting 11th

The NFL awarded Super Bowls to Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles, three cities that made significant financial investments in new stadiums or recently upgraded an existing one.

Atlanta will host the game in 2019, followed by Miami (2020) and Los Angeles (2021), it was announced Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings.

Atlanta will host its third Super Bowl, but the first at its new $1.4 billion stadium which opens in 2017. The previous two were at the Georgia Dome.

Miami will have its record-setting 11th Super Bowl following a $450 million stadium renovation.

Los Angeles, which gets the relocated Rams this season, has not hosted a Super Bowl in the area since 1993 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The game will be played at the new $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood, California, which opens in 2019.

Tampa Bay and New Orleans were also in the running to host a Super Bowl.

The selection of Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles maintains the recent cycle of the league's owners rewarding cities that have built new stadiums or renovated existing facilities with the lucrative financial reward of hosting a Super Bowl in return.

Last year's Super Bowl was played in Santa Clara, California, after the 49ers built a stadium. Minneapolis will host a Super Bowl in 2018 with a new stadium that opens this season.

New York-New Jersey, Indianapolis, Dallas and Detroit all received Super Bowl bids in the past after spending millions on new stadiums.

Atlanta will host its first Super Bowl since 2000, when an untimely ice storm in the Southeast crippled festivities by forcing cancellation of some hospitality events and making travel treacherous. Atlanta subsequently lost bids to host the game in 2009 and 2010, with some owners saying at the time the ice storm was one of the reasons. But Falcons owner Arthur Blank's new stadium put Atlanta back in the picture.

Blank said he was "screaming joy for the city of Atlanta and our fans" when he learned of the owners' decision.

"We feel like downtown Atlanta is very unique and the stadium is unique," Blank said.

Atlanta also will stage the College Football Playoff championship game in January 2018.

The Miami area will move ahead of New Orleans, which has hosted 10 Super Bowls, when it stages its first title showdown since 2010. The area remains a popular venue because of its weather, ability to host big events and two major airports that help travel in and out of the city.

Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka was an ambassador for the Miami bid. Csonka admitted he was a "little nervous" at first talking to the owners, joking he probably should have hit something before walking into the room.

"The facts are indisputable," Csonka said. "We have had 10 Super Bowls and they have been successful."

The NFL has been eager to have a team in Los Angeles for quite some time and the Rams moved from St. Louis with owner Stan Kroenke's promise of a grandiose stadium — one that will be the most expensive in the league. The reward was the area's eighth Super Bowl overall, but first Super Bowl since 1993, when the Cowboys defeated the Bills 52-17 at the Rose Bowl. Five Super Bowls have been played at the Rose Bowl and two at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Here's a look at what the cities are bringing to the table:

ATLANTA
Atlanta is a two-time Super Bowl host (1994 and 2000) and was heavily favored to land the big game for the third time, largely based on a new $1.4 billion retractable roof stadium that is scheduled to open in 2017.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has already helped the city land college football's national championship game in 2018 and the men's basketball Final Four in 2020.

Atlanta has an abundance of hotel rooms and plenty of experience hosting big events, including the 1996 Summer Olympics.

The winter weather can be a bit persnickety — the city was struck by an ice storm during the 2000 Super Bowl — but that shouldn't be enough to keep the NFL from bringing its showcase back to Atlanta.

MIAMI
There are some obvious reasons why Miami has been a Super Bowl site favorite in the past, and the same reasons applied now: The weather, having two major airports within about a half-hour of the stadium and a proven history of pulling off big events.

Its $450 million in upgrades were the latest lure.

The stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, is in the midst of getting a new look, most notably new video screens at four corners of the facility and a canopy roof that will serve as protection from the elements. Those upgrades did result in the stadium's capacity being trimmed by about 10,000 seats — a significant downside that could work against South Florida's bid hopes.

Still, the area has hosted 10 Super Bowls in the past and even though it famously rained on Prince's halftime show in 2010 — the last time a Super Bowl was held in South Florida — there's usually been no complaints about having to come to Miami.

LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles was considered a strong contender to receive a Super Bowl bid in either 2020 or 2021 following owner Stan Kroenke receiving approval to move the Rams from St. Louis earlier this year.

Kroenke is helping to build a new $2.6 billion retractable roof stadium in Inglewood, California, slated to be completed in 2019. The stadium will seat 70,000 people, but can be expanded to hold an additional 10,000 for the Super Bowl. The stadium is located on 289 acres of land and the project includes a 300-room hotel and 6,000-seat performing arts center.

The Los Angeles area has previously hosted seven Super Bowls, including five at the Rose Bowl and two at the Coliseum.

It has not hosted the game since 1993.

There are abundant hotels in the area and the city features one of the largest airports in the United States.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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