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Goodell Ponders SB in Chicago
http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story...ing-super-bowl
CHICAGO –-- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke Thursday about the possibility of Soldier Field hosting a Super Bowl.
The NFL will hold the Super Bowl in MetLife Stadium, an open-air stadium, in New Jersey in 2014, and could host future games at cold-weather sites.
"We did speak about this earlier," Goodell said during a news conference to honor Soldier Field as the first NFL stadium certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). "As you know, we are hosting a Super Bowl in New York in an open-air stadium in 2014, and we're excited about that. We think it's going to be a great thing for our fans, and a great thing for New York.
"I think if we can do it successfully there, I think that opens up doors where we'll be looking at. Obviously, you know how to host great events. ... And you got a great stadium."
Emanuel touted Chicago being the recent host of the NATO Summit as proof of its ability to host a large event like the Super Bowl.
"First of all, we've always been good enough to host the Super Bowl," Emanuel said. "Obviously, they're going to have their Super Bowl in another (cold-weather) city. See how that goes. But we talked about why Chicago ... two weeks ago (we) had a bunch of world leaders here, sixth largest NATO Summit. If we can do that, it'll be a perfect place to have a Super Bowl."
Goodell admitted Soldier Field's capacity of about 63,500 would need to be examined if Chicago were to bid on the Super Bowl, but it wasn't the lone factor in deciding a site. MetLife Stadium has a capacity of 82,500 people.
"Capacity is always an issue, but at the end of the day we'd have to look at the specifics," Goodell said. "That would be part of the bid. The most important thing now is having a great stadium and having a city that can have the infrastructure to host the hundreds of thousands of people who come in.
"We estimate probably 150,000 people come in for a Super Bowl. Obviously, not everyone can get into the stadium, but they want to be a part of the event. We know the great passion (for) football here in Chicago. It's one of the things we'll look at if there's interest in hosting here."
Emanuel joked he did have one item of leverage on Goodell.
"I found out a secret, and that is the commissioner's in-laws live in the Chicago area," Emanuel said. "I'm holding them hostage until (the Super Bowl) happens."
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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I just can't see them awarding the SB to a city with the smallest stadium in the NFL. Maybe that's something else they should have considered when they designed it. The other is a natural grass turf. There are too many other sites with a much larger capacity and I don't see the NFL giving up the revenues from 20,000 extra seats.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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I agree, between the size and turf(always rated by players at the bottom of the league) I don't see it. Maybe when the Mc's are forced to sell the new owners will demand a new stadium or just build a new one on their own ala Jerry World. THEN Chi-Town can possibly get it.
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No, no, no, this is Rahm's way of an excuse to CHANGE the turf to what the park district wants, over the objections of Halas Hall (if that is still the case after Angelo's departure). It's also his way of finding an excuse to add seats to the NEW stadium (good luck finding that one Rahm). The new stadium was all your predecessors design, but watch him blame the Bears for it. 
The Greatest form of revenge is MASSIVE success.
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Rahm just needs to tear down/start from scratch; although it's probably still to soon for it. That gawd awful mess of a stadium needs to go away as quickly as it can.
but I hope you're rigth
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I though everyone has said that it's got great sight lines and you're pretty close to the field. I don't know what's a mess about it I've never been to a game there but old Soldier Field was no prize that for sure.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Don't expect to see Super Bowl at Soldier Field
By Dan Pompei, Tribune reporter 6:51 p.m. CDT, May 31, 2012
Soldier Field may be going green, but that doesn't mean it can generate enough green.
And that, my friend, is the main reason a Super Bowl cannot be part of Chicago's near-term future.
If Chicago wanted to host a Super Bowl, it should have done two things differently in 2001 when the city decided to rebuild Soldier Field.
It should have made the capacity significantly larger, and it should have put a dome of some sort over it.
The roof wouldn't have been as imperative to the chances of hosting a Super Bowl as increasing the number of seats, however.
Soldier Field holds only 63,500 fans. That's the smallest capacity of any NFL stadium. Cowboys Stadium, by comparison, squeezed 103,219 fans in its doors for the Super Bowl in 2011.
The average face value for a Super Bowl ticket is about $1,000. So a Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium would be worth more than $400,000 than a Super Bowl at Soldier Field in ticket sales alone. And ticket sales are just the starting point. (Er Dan, that should be $40 mil. 40,000 more fans x $1000 each)
A good parking spot may set you back $600. Quenching your thirst with a margarita will cost $19. Large popcorn in a souvenir tub for $20, anyone?
Not having a dome is lesser problem, but a problem just the same.
It's true the NFL will play in an outdoor stadium in an northern climate in New Jersey in 2014. But Chicago in February makes New York feel like Honolulu.
And MetLife Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be played, has FieldTurf. Soldier Field has grass. In February, Soldier Field has a mixture of dead grass, mud and sand.
Not the ideal playing surface for North America's premier sporting spectacle.
There is another factor in all of this.
If a city with a less than ideal climate wants to host a Super Bowl, it has to build a stadium. There are $1.6 billion reasons why New Jersey nabbed a Super Bowl, and $720 million reasons why Indianapolis was awarded one.
The NFL hung the Super Bowl carrot over those cities to get stadiums built. The NFL is not hanging a Super Bowl carrot over Chicago.
So the chances of Chicago hosting a Super Bowl are roughly the same as the chances of Jupiter hosting one. (Actually higher for Jupiter if they get a franchise)
dpompei@tribune.com
Twitter@danpompei
Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Ya um Dan, I priced tickets in Dallas, the shitty ones at the very top at the end of the endzone was 1500. I cannot imagine the average being 1000. Probably closer to 10K.
But that's the point, too small, I mean, when's the last SB that even ended up at a stadium that wasn't new; outside New Orleans after the Hurricane? Gots to get big so the profits are through the roof.
Soul, I have no idea about the inside, I'm talking about the outside, it looks like crap. It's also pathetic that it cost them more to "renivate" that tiny PoS, then it did for AZ to build theirs(and they were done pretty much at the same time).
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I wish they would restructure Soldier Field to where you could see the Greek columns from inside the stadium rather having to settle for what is outdoors. That place looks like a spaceship or a glassed-in mausoleum.
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They might have a chance if they promise the half-time act will be someone actually younger than the original facade that remains outside.
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