Houston, Jacksonville to Host Super Bowls
A T L A N T A, Nov. 1 -- Jacksonville’s ship came in today.
With the help of some shipping companies who will bring in 10cruise ships to help provide rooms, NFL owners voted to bring theSuper Bowl to north Florida for the first time.
Jacksonville beat out Miami, which has played host to eightSuper Bowls, in a closely contested race for the 2005 game.
As expected, the owners gave the 2004 Super Bowl to Houston andthe 2006 game to Detroit, rewarding both cities for building newstadiums. Neither had opposition.
Cruise Ships Will Expand Lodging
That wasn’t the case for Jacksonville, which required fourballots to become one of the smallest metropolitan areas to landthe biggest one-day event in American sports.
“This raises us to a first-tier city,” said Wayne Weaver,owner of the Jaguars.
Jacksonville, with a metro population just over 1 million,earned its first Super Bowl even though the NFL had seriousconcerns about a lack of hotel space and airline flights.
The city will dock at least 10 cruise ships near Alltel Stadiumon the St. John’s River, adding about 8,000 rooms to its downtownhotel capacity. Sydney used a similar tactic during the Olympics.
“I think the membership bought into that,” Weaver said.“We’re going to give them a different and unique experience.”
Also, three airlines agreed to triple flights to Jacksonvilleduring the Super Bowl week, ensuring fans will be able to get inand out of the city.
“There was a sentiment for diversity, a change of scenery,”said Art Modell, owner of the Baltimore Ravens. “Miami will alwaysbe a part of the Super Bowl rotation, but Jacksonville deservedit.”
Miami brought a delegation that included former Dolphins coachDon Shula and ex-quarterback Dan Marino.
Oakland also bid for the 2005 game but was given little chancebecause of its feud with Raiders owner Al Davis. The Californiacity, seeking its first Super Bowl, was eliminated on the secondballot.
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