What Did You Miss in 2018?

U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis

Super Bowl LII to be held in January 2018 will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the first time since 1992. The other two other cities bidding to host the 2018 Super Bowl were Indianapolis and New Orleans, who last hosted in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Minneapolis is home to the Minnesota Vikings who play in the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division and is the 16th largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 3.5mm people. Alongside St. Paul, it forms the ‘twin cities,’ the largest business region between Chicago and Seattle, and offers a modern light rail system, international airport, and the acclaimed Mall of America, one of the largest malls in America.

The Minnesota Vikings have competed in the NFL since 1961 when they were an expansion team; however, they have yet to capture a championship, losing all four of their appearances in the Super Bowl to date.

The successful 2018 Super Bowl Minneapolis bid centered around a state-of-the-art new stadium and a legacy project for the local community. The strapline of the bid was ‘built for the bold’ and the new USBank Stadium, opened in July 2016 at a cost of $1bln, seems to have been the decisive factor, with NFL owners citing the award of the Super Bowl to a new stadium as a ‘great NFL tradition.’

The new stadium seats 66,000 for regular games and is expandable to 73,000 for events such as the 2018 Super Bowl, which comfortably meets the selection criteria of at least 70,000 seats. The stadium features a fixed roof, rather than a more expensive retractable roof, and is made of 60% translucent Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene. It spans 240,000 square feet, the largest in North America, and is able to endure heavy snow loads that are customary in this part of the country. The stadium houses 131 suites of 7 different types, including 23 ‘turf suites’ located directly on the field. In addition, there are also 6 club spaces, with private entry, restrooms, VIP parking and a la carte food and beverage options available for the 2018 Super Bowl.

As well as the decisive factor of the new stadium, other key criteria for the winning bid were said to be the international airport, with a greater capacity than either New Orleans or Indianapolis.

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