Report: Arizona shows interest in hosting Super Bowl in 2021
Apr 9, 2015, 1:20 PM | Updated: 1:20 pm
PHOENIX — It’s getting be a habit — Arizona may be eyeing another turn as host of a Super Bowl, this time in 2021.
The Phoenix Business Journal reported Thursday that exploratory efforts to put together a bid for the 2021 NFL title game had begun.
University of Phoenix Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale in February. The championship game brought record crowds to the Phoenix area.
The Super Bowl Host Committee estimated the economic impact would be about $500 million. No final monetary figures have been released, but record crowds of about 1 million made the trek.
Arizona has hosted the Super Bowl two other times — in 1996 (at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe) and 2008 (in Glendale).
Next year’s Super Bowl will be played in Santa Clara, California, at the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi Stadium. Houston will host the game in 2017.
Congratulations to @AZSuperBowl ! Your hard work was evident and the results were impressive! You're wonderful hosts! #SB49 in AZ was great!
— Houston Super Bowl (@HouSuperBowl) February 2, 2015
Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said a week before this year’s game that his city was losing money by hosting.
He blamed public safety training, among other things.
“Just a ridiculous amount of meetings from all of our staff, all the different departments and that’s been ongoing now for close to a year,” he said. “That’s expensive and the game hasn’t even happened yet.”
Weiers also pointed out that, “We don’t receive any taxes from the actual game so we have to depend on people that are going to the Westgate area and surrounding areas.”
