With the 2014 Super Bowl scheduled to be played outdoors in cold-weather New Jersey, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fielded a question Friday about Chicago's prospects to host the event.
"Chicago is a great community," Goodell said at his annual Super Bowl press conference. "I hear it from my wife every day, by the way, but as far as football fans are concerned, there is no greater passion in Chicago. There are a number of issues that go into playing a Super Bowl. It’s not just the stadium. It’s clearly the number of hotel rooms, the other infrastructure, all of which I presume that Chicago would meet.
"If they’re interested, we certainly will meet with them and discuss the ability to do that.”
But given the Bears current stadium situation, Chicago's odds to land a Super Bowl might be slim. Soldier Field's seating capacity of 61,500 is the smallest in the NFL. And all of the recent Super Bowls awarded to cold-weather cities (Detroit, Indianapolis, New York/New Jersey) have been or will be played in new, state of the art stadiums.