While most eyes on this year’s Super Bowl are focused on who will win the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots Sunday, a Minnesota contingent in Arizona for the big game is thinking three years down the road.
That’s when Minneapolis will host Super Bowl LII (52). The six-member executive board of the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee has been in Arizona all week, looking over the logistics and taking notes to help figure out how it will put on the big event in early 2018.
They’re also doing some public relations work for what could be the coldest Super Bowl host city in more than a decade, ESPN reports.
The prevailing attitude is to embrace the winter weather – the cold temps and the snow – as part of the Super Bowl experience.
“We do winter better than anybody else,” said Melvin Tennant, president and CEO of MeetMinnneapolis, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “We can’t control the weather. If something happens, we’re prepared for it more than anyone else.”
And Maureen Bausch, the head of the local Super Bowl committee, added that there’s more to a successful event than the temperature outside.
“I think it’s all about people. If we make them feel good, they’re going to have a good time,” Bausch said, according to ESPN. “It’s about showcasing our people, our sophisticated marketplace, our innovations.”
The bowl-related activities in Minnesota will take place both outside and inside.
Bausch said most of the Super Bowl week activities will be held in Minneapolis, with Nicollet Mall most likely the center of the action.
But she added she wants to “do something big” in St. Paul, although it’s not yet clear what that might be, according to the Pioneer Press. St. Paul activities will likely have a tie-in to the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which will be going on at the same time as the game.
On Saturday the committee and the NFL also unveiled the new and official logo for Super Bowl LII:
Updated Super Bowl LII logo revealed: http://t.co/Tyas7osueA pic.twitter.com/XgfeglLnxX
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 31, 2015
The Minnesota delegation has toured University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the game will be played Sunday, looked at venues for media and fan activities, and discussed things like transportation and security needs.
NFL officials will visit the Twin Cities in March to look at the potential venues and discuss the committee’s plans.
