With NFL owners voting to put a Super Bowl in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, it’s logical to wonder if more outdoor title games in cold-weather locales are possible.
So, how about the Boston area getting a game?
The subject came up at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s press conference at the conclusion of the league meetings Tuesday in Boston, and Goodell’s answer shed some light on the various issues that would go into such a decision.
“It is a great city,” Goodell said, according to a transcript provided by the league. “We stress this over and over again. We are holding our first northern site Super Bowl at the end of this season. We want to see what that experience is like.
“It is more than just a game now. I keep emphasizing that. This is a week-long event. We have multiple events that need multiple facilitates. We are at [a need for] well over 25,000 hotel rooms now.
”. . . If there is an interest at some point in time and we decide to look at open-air northern site Super Bowl cities, I assume the Patriots will look at that.”
Gillette Stadium, home of the Patriots, opened in 2002. All Super Bowls through 2017 are spoken for with owners selecting San Francisco and Houston as host cities in 2016 and 2017, respectively, on Tuesday.
A New York-New Jersey Super Bowl that leaves teams, corporate sponsors and fans pleased could open up some intriguing possibilities for the league. But Goodell’s response was telling. The league looks to be taking a wait-and-see approach on expanding the pool of host cities with outdoor stadiums in cooler climates.