The NFL announced the locations for Super Bowls LIII, LIV and LV on Tuesday, resulting in a lot of happy folks in Atlanta, South Florida and Los Angeles.
The NFL announced at the Spring League Meeting on Tuesday that Atlanta has won the right to host Super Bowl LIII in 2019. It will be the third time they host the game and the first Super Bowl in Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is under construction and scheduled to open as the new home of the Falcons in 2017.
"We think Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a great host stadium for the Super Bowl," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said. "Thank you to all fans and citizens for their support."
The 2020 Super Bowl will mark a return to South Florida for the first time in a decade. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross poured in more than $400 million in renovations to get the big game back in town, and he was rewarded by his fellow owners for the upgrades.
"The only thing better than winning the 2020 Super Bowl is playing in it and winning it," Ross told reporters after the selection.
It came as no surprise that the Super Bowl LV in 2021 will take place in Los Angeles. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell previously called the plans for the new Rams stadium to be "transformational, not just for the Rams, not just for the Los Angeles community but for the NFL."
Super Bowl LV could be one of many major NFL events to come to Los Angeles, with the Scouting Combine or NFL draft as future possibilities, too.
New Orleans was in the running to host Super Bowl LIII and the vote on Tuesday came down to Atlanta and their division rivals. But the league rewarded the Falcons for building a new stadium, instead of awarding an 11th Super Bowl to New Orleans. Tampa Bay was also in the mix for all three Super Bowls, but were left out in the cold. NFL owners already determined the sites for Super Bowl LI (NRG Stadium, Houston) and Super Bowl LII (U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis).
The message is clear from NFL ownership. Build a stadium (or fix one up) and the Super Bowl will come to town.
