As expected, South Florida and Phoenix, along with New Orleans, submitted bids to host the 2013 Super Bowl by Wednesday's NFL-mandated deadline, according to league officials.
As part of the initial bidding process, all three potential host sites submitted the technical aspects of their proposals, such as the number of available hotel rooms, available space for a pregame tailgate party and other space needed for the many Super Bowl-week activities.
Officials with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Saints are expected to travel to New York on April 28 to meet with representatives from the NFL to go over New Orleans' initial bid. The group then will submit the final version of its bid the next week.
The New Orleans group will make a 15-minute presentation to NFL owners at the May 18-20 meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., when the owners will make their decision.
New Orleans is vying for its 10th Super Bowl. South Florida will host its 10th Super Bowl in 2010, and Phoenix has hosted two.
The bid comes as negotiations continue between the Saints and the state on a long-term deal to keep the team in New Orleans. Doug Thornton, the regional vice president of SMG, the company that operates the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena on the state's behalf, told a legislative committee that he hopes to have an announcement before the owners vote on the bid May 18.
Without a new deal, Thornton said, it's unlikely the league will award the 2013 game to New Orleans because the team's current agreement with the state expires after the 2010 season, and the league wants to make sure there is an NFL franchise in the host city.
Any deal requiring state taxpayer support could find tough sledding in the Legislature. Gov. Bobby Jindal has included $21 million in his 2009-10 budget proposal to help meet the state's obligations to the team. But several lawmakers have indicated they want any taxpayer subsidies to the team to be generated exclusively from the New Orleans area.
Typical of the sentiment was Rep. Bernard LeBas, D-Ville Platte, who said it's tough to justify paying a Football team at a time when health care and education programs are on the chopping block. "They don't see any gain in my area from the Saints being here," LeBas said.
