The Minnesota Vikings will be hosting the 2018 Super Bowl LII. The news was announced by Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner on May 20, in a report by TIME.
One of the reasons why NFL owners preferred to hold the big game in Minneapolis may be because of the newly built stadium in the city worth $1 billion. The owners had to decide among Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and New Orleans during the fourth round of voting. The previous favorite to win the bid was New Orleans, but it lost only once in 11 attempts.
Minnesota last hosted the event in 1992 during Super Bowl XXVI at the Metrodome, wherein Washington won over Buffalo. Metrodome was demolished in 2014 and the new stadium is expected to be completed in 2016. It has a seating capacity of 65,000.
In an articleby USA Today, Jay Cicero, part of the New Orleans committee, said that the deciding factor was absolutely the new stadium being built in Minneapolis. He said, "We were right there. In the end, we felt it was the new stadium that did it for Minnesota and we congratulate them." He added, "Any time that there is so much public support for a $1 billion stadium."
32 NFL owners would vote for several rounds as to who would host the Super Bowl. Sports Illustrated writes that Minnesota was the underdog while New Orleans was the favorite. The Big Easy expected to host the event for the 11th time just in time for its 300th birthday celebration.
Zygi Wilf, owner of the Vikings said that he saw the Super Bowl committee in the green room and he felt elated seeing them jump for joy upon knowing that they have won the bid. "It's been 10 years since we've been owners. And it's been a long drive to build this stadium... Both for the stadium and the Super Bowl, we can rejoice now," Wilf said.
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