FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MINNESOTA SUPER BOWL BID COMMITTEE SUBMITS BID FOR 2018 SUPER BOWL

Minneapolis (April 1, 2014) Following two months of extensive collaboration, Minnesotas Super Bowl Bid Committee submitted to the NFL today the states preliminary bid to host Super Bowl LII in 2018.

A culmination of collaborative work by the Minnesota Super Bowl Steering Committee and the states corporate and civic leadership, the preliminary bid submission includes hundreds of pages covering all aspects of Super Bowl Week event venue options, transportation and parking, lodging, security procedures, team practice sites and more. Highlights from the bid include the following:

• More than 180 hotels from throughout the region worked with the committee to secure over 19,000 hotel rooms.
• 48 different venue options throughout Bloomington, Minneapolis and St. Paul were identified for potential use during Super Bowl Week.
• Practice sites for the two competing teams were covered in great detail.
• A letter of support was authored and signed by Governor Mark Dayton and Republican and Democratic legislative leaders.

Submitting this bid was a tremendous task that involved multiple individuals and organizations in Minnesota, said Super Bowl Bid Committee Co-Chair and U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis. This level of collaboration allowed us to produce a comprehensive bid that accurately reflects the excellent attributes of our region. Today, we put Minnesotas best foot forward, and we feel extremely good about our bid.

This new stadium is being built to attract and host major events, some that will bring more than 100,000 visitors to fill our hotels and restaurants and to shop in our stores, said Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Chair Michele Kelm-Helgen. Events like the Super Bowl provide national and international exposure to Minnesota as a place to live, work and do business. We hope this will be just one example of the many economic benefits the stadium will provide our great state.

The potential benefits of hosting the 2018 Super Bowl are understood by so many of the organizations and businesses in this region, and many are a part of this bid, said Meet Minneapolis President and CEO Melvin Tennant. The collaboration and support shown so far have been more than we could have asked for. This has been an affirmation of our decision to compete for this opportunity.

Members of the Minnesota Super Bowl Bid Committee will meet with NFL staff in New York City later this month to zero in on bid details and respond to the questions in the draft bid documents. Following those meetings, the committee will submit its final bid on May 7, 2014, and just two weeks later, will make an oral presentation to all 32 NFL owners during the NFL Owners Meetings in Atlanta (May 19-21, 2014). The final host selection for the game on February 4, 2018, will take place at that time.

The effort from the bid committee, as well as from Minnesotas business and community leadership, has been nothing short of outstanding, said Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf. NFL owners will greatly enjoy this communitys hospitality, venues and energy. Minnesota will deliver an outstanding Super Bowl in 2018.

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MEDIA CONTACTS

For more information please contact MSFA Project Coordinator Tiffany Orth at 612.335.3316, Meet Minneapolis Communications Manager Kristen Montag at 612.767.8038 or Vikings Executive Director of Communications Jeff Anderson at 952.828.6570.

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