While the economic impact of a city, metro and state for their respective Super Bowls will be tirelessly, and ultimately pointlessly, debated, the confidential specifics of Minneapolis’s bid for the 2018 game are slowly being leaked.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune obtained a massive list of specific requests from the NFL. Granted, the host committee is not required to accept each request on the 153-page document, but the extensive list reveals a heavy dose of impressively strategic non-profit power move from Roger Goodell and Co.
Due to state laws, the NFL and the host committee is not required to release which items Minneapolis agreed to fulfill, but one can assume it took some generous convincing to bypass both Indianapolis and New Orleans. According to Mike Kaszura and Rochelle Olson of the Star Tribune, a host committee official said the panel agreed to a majority of the extravagant conditions but refused to elaborate.
The list of requests contained the following amongst hundreds of others:
-NFL receives all money from ticket sales
-Free curbside parking at a yet-to-be-designated “NFL House”, defined as a high-end exclusive drop-in hospitality facility for most valued and influential guests to meet, unwind, network and conduct business
-NFL and partners will receive free access to “top quality” golf courses in the area during the summer and/or fall of 2017
-Team owners receive free police escorts to and from the game
-35,000 free parking spaces around the stadium
-If cellphone signal strength at team hotels isn’t strong enough, the host committee will build a sufficient number of portable cellular towers
-12 cases of water, 1,000 towels and 800 pounds of ice per day
-Significant advertising and promotional time in the local media for the “NFL Experience” for one month leading up to game. This time includes but is not limited to the following: 20+ color pages of free space in the leading daily newspapers to promote game and four weeks of free promotions on at least six local radio stations, including at least 250 live or pre-recorded ads
-20 free NFL billboards across the Twin Cities
-Hotels hosting teams must broadcast NFL Network for one year prior to game at no cost to the league
-Stadium ATMs must accept NFL-preferred credit/debit cards and other non-preferred card ATMs will be covered or removed
-Two top quality bowling venues will be provided free of charge for the Celebrity Bowling Classic
-Host committee receives 750 game tickets…but must pay for them
-Free police officers for anti-counterfeit ticket and merchandise services
-High-level airport management will cooperate with those needing special services, including team charters and private planes
-Foot the bill for 180 people to visit Minneapolis for a “familiarization trip” prior to game
-Public officials must create a Clean Zone (one mile around stadium and 6 blocks from NFL headquarters hotel) that restricts certain activities and eliminates special event permits
-NFL will not be charged to place league and team logos on field or to change turf to accommodate different logos
