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In the wake of Charlotte’s successful Democratic National Convention, some civic boosters have floated the idea of hosting pro football’s biggest game.
The NFL has historically only awarded Super Bowls to warm-weather cities such as Miami or San Diego, or to Northern cities with domed stadiums. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell granted the 2014 Super Bowl to a new open-air stadium in New Jersey. If that cold-weather site is deemed acceptable by players, fans and corporate sponsors, other cities like Charlotte could make a Super Bowl push.
Carolina Panthers team president Danny Morrison said the original plans for Bank of America Stadium called for 65,000 seats. But he said owner Jerry Richardson built the stadium with 74,000 seats, to make a better case for hosting the Super Bowl.
If local or state taxpayers decide to subsidize renovations to the Panthers stadium, it’s likely they would cite the Super Bowl as a possibility for the city.
Morrison said Charlotte could still have one more hurdle for securing the NFL’s championship game: enough hotel rooms.
When Jacksonville, Fla., hosted the Super Bowl in 2005, the city brought five cruise ships to the city to meet the NFL’s minimum hotel requirement.
The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority has discussed building a 1,000-room hotel uptown – a move that would go a long way toward making the city Super Bowl-worthy. But a 1,000-room hotel would likely need a public subsidy, possibly competing for the same funds the city might use to help the Panthers renovate Bank of America Stadium.
Steve Harrison
