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Super Bowl may return

Warm weather and a popular stadium make Tampa a top contender to host what would be its 4th NFL title game in '07.

By ROGER MILLS and DAVID KARP
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 31, 2002

TAMPA -- Tampa has hosted three Super Bowls and has a good chance for a fourth.

At the NFL owners meetings in New York on Wednesday, commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Tampa Bay and Miami have emerged as likely frontrunners for Super Bowl XLI (41) in January 2007.

Super Bowl XXXVII is Jan. 26 in San Diego, and Houston, Jacksonville and Detroit host the 2004, 2005 and 2006 games, respectively.

At a news conference at the Essex House Hotel in New York, Tagliabue said the two Florida venues were strong candidates for the 2007 game but said Los Angeles also is a distant possibility if renovations are made to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

"Our Super Bowl advisory committee's consensus centers on three points," Tagliabue said. "The first is that for the 2007 Super Bowl, which is the next one available after Detroit, the priority should be to play the game in a warm-weather city.

"That should be a city with an outstanding stadium and a track record of having hosted Super Bowls. And it may be we won't know this until next year, but it might be that Miami and Tampa Bay would emerge as among the leaders to host that Super Bowl."

Tagliabue's comments came on the heels of Washington and New York formally applying to host the 2008 game. "We understand the economic benefit of the Super Bowl and would certainly be excited to bring the world's premier sporting event back to our community," Bucs communications manager Jeff Kamis said in a statement. "The excitement and passion for football in our area is as strong as anywhere in the world, and we think Tampa would again make a fabulous host for this prestigious event."

Tagliabue's comments were met with considerable enthusiasm across the Tampa Bay community.

Mayor Dick Greco said he was not surprised the league would consider hosting another Super Bowl in Tampa, considering the success of the games held here in 2001, '91 and '84.

"They have always been very pleased with how Super Bowls have gone here," Greco said. "They have been done with no hitches."

Greco said he planned to get on the phone this morning to get officials working on Tampa's bid.

"I think it would be great to get another one."

He likely won't have to make many calls. A group of organizers has been waiting for a request for proposals from the NFL, said Leonard Levy, the vice chair of the Super Bowl Task Force in 2001. The group expected the NFL's bid package this month. As soon as the package arrives a formal plan will be implemented, Levy said.

The obvious attraction for both Florida cities is the weather, especially considering the 2006 Super Bowl will be in Detroit.

"We have some advantages over doing one in Minnesota, not that I don't like Minnesota," said Henry Saavedra, executive director of the Tampa Sports Authority, the government agency that runs Raymond James Stadium. "It's just that it's snowing there."

In addition to the weather and history for being a good host, Tampa is helped by the national reputation of Raymond James Stadium, considered one of the best football venues in the country.

"We start working on the Super Bowl the day after the (previous) Super Bowl is done," Saavedra said. "We want to get it as soon as possible. We're going to go for it."

Local officials are convinced the city can put together a convincing presentation.

Officials pointed out that the city hosted the 2001 Super Bowl and the Gasparilla parade on the same weekend and that visitors come not only for the game but to enjoy the proximity to the beaches, Ybor City and Orlando.

"There is a lot to do around here," Greco said.

With new stores in Channelside, hotels planned in Ybor City and the new TECO electric streetcar system running, the city "seems to be getting better and better and there is more for people to do," Greco said.

But Levy, who didn't know about Tagliabue's remarks, said he felt Miami has a stronger chance of landing the game, considering Miami last hosted it in '99.

"I'm not real optimistic," Levy said. "We will put the hard press on. We do a better job than they do. We have better people."

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