Super Bowl 50 wrapped up in the Bay Area, and while the game itself was not as exciting as some, things went fairly well from a perception standpoint. There were complaints about splitting it up between Santa Clara and San Francisco and the homeless were treated in an incredibly shoddy manner. And Mike Florio complained about the smell of marijuana in San Francisco.
But for the purposes of the NFL, people generally seemed happy with how things went down. And while the distance was an issue, I also think it makes some sense. The Super Bowl is essentially two distinct events. The game and the practices leading up to it, and everything else. It's better to have everything relatively close together, but splitting it up can play up the differences in the two aspects of the week.
During the latter half of Super Bowl week, Mike Florio suggested people thought there would not be another Bay Area Super Bowl anytime soon. He felt like 50 was basically quid pro quo for getting a stadium built. However, at least one senior executive thinks we'll see another Super Bowl in the Bay Area.
.@NFLonTheHill believes Bay Area will host another Super Bowl. Says #NFL wanted to host Super Bowl I in SF but couldn't make stadium work
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) February 16, 2016
@NFLonTheHill is NFL senior adviser Joe Browne. He is the longest serving official in the NFL league office, and has been in his senior adviser role since 2010. He was previously executive VP, senior VP, and regular VP. He's been around a bit.
This does not mean the Bay Area is going to become a permanent part of any rotation. New Orleans and Miami have held the most Super Bowls, with 10 apiece in some form or fashion. Pasadena has held five, and LA has held two, with the last taking place in 1993. It's safe to say that once LA gets a new stadium built, the city is going to be a regular member of the rotation.
The next two Super Bowl sites have already been selected, with Houston hosting Super Bowl 51 in 2017, and Minneapolis hosting Super Bowl 52 in 2018. The league has announced four finalists competing for Super Bowls 53 and 54. They include Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, and Tampa. The owners will vote on those two Super Bowls in May. During Super Bowl week, the CEO of Levi's made a bit of a joke, saying he hoped Levi's Stadium would get to host Super Bowl 56. That would be LVI in the roman numerals. I'd like to think the stupid corporate joke wouldn't happen in that manner, but somehow I would not be surprised.