DENVER (KDVR) — Out of the 56 years, the Mile High City has never hosted a Super Bowl – and it’s not on the list for the upcoming years either.
Don’t hold your breath for any time beyond that either. Based on the NFL’s requirements to host a Super Bowl, Denver will never host a Super Bowl unless those requirements change.
A 157-page document released in 2013 outlines some of the practical, and surprising, bid specifications and requirements to host a Super Bowl. This specific document is for Super Bowl LII, this is the most recent accessible requirement list released to the public.
Super Bowl requirements
The NFL’s list of requirements ranges from stadium needs, transportation and hotels to government guarantees.
Some other rules are given, like the requirement of at least 70,000 seats. Meanwhile, other requirements are very specific, like three 18-hole golf courses and two bowling lanes in the area for no cost to the NFL.
Despite whether or not Empower Field lines up with the ample number of demands set by the NFL, Denver’s ruled out as a stadium on the first page that states the requirements.
The second rule for stadium configuration on page 18 reads:
The NFL requires climate-controlled domed Stadium if the historical average daily temperature over a 10-year period in the Host Community on the week of the Game is below 50 degrees.
NFL Confidential Demands for Minneapolis to Host Super Bowl
The NFL wants the games played on a level playing field where weather doesn’t become a factor, according to FOX31 Sports Director Dave Althouse.
Out of the 17 host cities for the Super Bowl, the majority have been in warmer climates like Miami or Phoenix. Places that hosted in colder cities have domed stadiums, like Detroit and Minneapolis, said Althouse.
The exception
There was one Super Bowl where the NFL wanted to try an outside game in a cold climate, with the Big Apple as the background. It was Super Bowl XLVIII with the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks.
The game wasn’t very successful, according to Althouse. It was 49 degrees at kickoff with below-zero temperatures in the days leading up to the game along with a blizzard following the game.
While Denver’s seen some 60-degree days in the past few weeks, its push for warmth isn’t good enough for the NFL.
If it gets warmer in Denver over the following years, the Mile High City might have a chance. But as for now, without a climate-controlled dome, there won’t be a Super Bowl at Empower Field.
