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A majority vote designated the new Meadowlands as the site of Super Bowl XLVIII in February of 2014.
A day of presentations by representatives from South Florida, Tampa and New York/New Jersey at the NFL owners meetings called for the first Super Bowl held in an open-air stadium from a cold-weather region.
And even though Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti recently expressed his concerns over a wintry game – especially after a winter in Baltimore that featured several crippling blizzards – Head Coach John Harbaugh thought the precedent could mean a championship battle in M&T Bank Stadium.
“I’m all for it,” Harbaugh said on Tuesday. “You know why? Because it means Baltimore might get one. So, you put one in New York, then come on down here to Baltimore and we’ll have a Super Bowl, too. That’s what I’d be for.
“Maybe I’m speaking out of turn… but Baltimore built a stadium, put a lot of money into a brand new stadium, so you start bringing it up here, I think we want one.”
The potential elemental effect did not thwart efforts by the New York Jets and New York Giants contingents, even if owners did have re-vote four times to reach the required approval.
The first vote did not tally 24 votes for any one city, and when the second vote offered the same results, Miami dropped out as the third finisher.
The third vote failed to generate 24 votes again, and New York/New Jersey came out on top with a majority on the fourth.
The Ravens will have an opportunity to test out the $1.6 billion Meadowlands this year when they ir open the season on Sept. 13 against the New York Jets.
At this point, though, Harbaugh said he is working towards a Super Bowl bid next February in Dallas.
“The main thing we’re concerned with is getting into the Super Bowl,” Harbaugh explained. “We try to take care of that first as a football team.”
Note: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not call for an owners vote on adopting the new overtime rules to the regular season during the Dallas meetings.
