The NFL is considering moving the 2024 Super Bowl out of New Orleans due to potential conflicts with Mardis Gras that emerged with the pending expansion to a 17-game season.
New Orleans, which was awarded Super Bowl LVIII during a meeting in 2018, would not lose the game entirely, but rather have it pushed back a year or two. No decision has been made.
The game is scheduled for Feb. 4, but that date was set with a 16-game NFL schedule. If a week were to be added to the schedule, the game would be played on Feb. 11 — presenting a conflict with Mardi Gras beginning on Feb. 13.
“The New Orleans Host Committee, led by the New Orleans Saints and Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, has remained in close communication with league officials about the change to a 17-game regular season, as it relates to the city hosting Super Bowl LVIII in 2024,” Saints vice president of communications Greg Bensel said in a statement on Friday. “During the bid process in 2018, it was contemplated and discussed of the possibility of an extended schedule based on a new CBA. The Bid Committee, the New Orleans Saints and NFL worked together to build in contingencies if a potential conflict with Mardi Gras should affect the Super Bowl date.
“Mutually agreed upon terms during the bid process granted assurances that the NFL and Host Committee would explore all options for still hosting the game in 2024, or, agreeing to host the Super Bowl in a future year when the citywide calendar permits.”
The 17-game schedule, per terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, will be installed as the norm sometime between 2021 and 2023.
The NFL has yet to award the 2025 Super Bowl. The other upcoming host cities are Tampa, Fla. (2020 season), Inglewood, Calif. (2021) and Glendale, Ariz (2022).
New Orleans has hosted the big game 10 times, trailing only Miami (11) for the most in Super Bowl history. The city most recently hosted Super Bowl XLVII following the 2012 season, when the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers after a mid-game power outage at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
–Field Level Media
