Woody Johnson wants Super Bowl to return to MetLife Stadium
John Mara, President and CEO, New York Football Giants, left, and Woody Johnson, Co-Chairman, NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, center, talk with one another at the end of a press conference at the Sheraton Hotel to kick off Super Bowl XLVIII week on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. Credit: Charles Eckert
BOCA RATON, Fla. — If Woody Johnson has his way, the Lombardi Trophy will be back in the New York/New Jersey area sooner than you think.
The Jets owner said Monday that he and Giants president and CEO John Mara are committed to hosting the Super Bowl again at MetLife Stadium.
“We are as serious as you can get,” Johnson said during the NFL owners meetings.
MetLife Stadium was the site of Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. Russell Wilson’s Seahawks routed Peyton Manning’s Broncos, 43-8, on Feb. 2, 2014.
“I think we did a good job. We put on a great stage,” Johnson said of hosting the biggest game of the season. “It wasn’t a great game, but it was a great stage and the weather was extremely good. We lucked out.
“Yeah, I’d love to do it.”
Cold-weather cities aren’t always the most ideal locations for Super Bowls, but Johnson anticipated he and Mara will get a positive reception from the other NFL owners.
“Well, we’ll start out with two votes,” he said, smiling. “I think there would be because there’s nothing like New York. Just think of being in the city. I mean, to me, it’s the greatest city in the world. There’s always something going on, it’s always unbelievable. You never know what cool thing is going to be there. You’ve got Broadway, great shopping, as well as having a fabulous Super Bowl.
If MetLife Stadium is selected again, it won’t be for a while. Houston’s Reliant Stadium will host Super Bowl LI next February and Indianapolis, Minneapolis and New Orleans are the three finalist cities for Super Bowl LII.
Johnson, who said it took the Jets and Giants three years of planning to pull off Super Bowl XLVIII, acknowledged that other cold-weather cities may pose as competition down the line.
“The cities with new stadiums, like the Vikings, they’ll probably get one,” he said. “Some of them will. But it doesn’t fit everywhere. There’s only one New York.”
