Philadelphia mayor wants Super Bowl

ByABC News
February 6, 2014, 8:09 AM

— -- Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is not about to be left out in the cold.

In Nutter's opinion,  a Super Bowl in the City of Brotherly Love would surpass this past Sunday's big event, hosted for the first time in a cold-weather site just up the Turnpike at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

"Heck, yeah, we want it," Nutter told reporters, according to NJ.com. "And we can do it better than anyone else."

While announcing $125 million in stadium upgrades last month, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie also said he wants a Super Bowl at Lincoln Financial Field.

Nutter cited the effect a Super Bowl would have on Philadelphia's economy and national reputation.

"It would provide a substantial economic benefit to the city and its growing hospitality sector," Nutter said. "It would mean an international focus on a city that is emerging as a desired destination for international visitors. And it would offer us the opportunity to market Philadelphia to a national audience.

"When it comes to doing big events and rolling out the red carpet, no city does it any better than the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection."

Officials in New England, Denver and Minnesota have also expressed interest in hosting a Super Bowl, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week stopped short of saying Super Bowl XLVIII is the first of more cold-weather games to come.

Goodell said hotel availability and "making sure we do these things the right way" were priorities in choosing the Super Bowl site.

Philadelphia would have to wait until at least 2019 for its chance at a Super Bowl. The sites for the next three Super Bowls have already been chosen (Glendale, Ariz.; Santa Clara, Calif.; Houston), as have the finalists for the 2018 game, which includes a cold-weather option in the Minnesota Vikings' new stadium, in addition to Indianapolis and New Orleans.