Minneapolis Awarded 2018 Super Bowl

If you build it, the Super Bowl will come. That message rang loud and clear yesterday when Minneapolis was awarded the 2018 game after a vote by NFL owners rewarded the city for its new stadium deal. The owners chose Minneapolis and the $1 billion stadium planned for the site of the old Metrodome to host the championship over New Orleans and Indianapolis. "In large part, it was due to recognition of the great work they've done on the stadium," Commissioner Roger Goodell noted.

"It's been 10 years and we've always been driving to build a stadium," Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said. "We can rejoice right now for being rewarded this, but the hard work comes now." New Orleans bid committee members were certain the new Minneapolis stadium, set to open in 2016, swung the vote. "The new stadium was absolutely the deciding factor," Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation President Jay Cicero said. "We did everything we were supposed to do, had a fantastic presentation." The big game is headed for the Twin Cities for the second time. It was there in 1992, when Washington beat Buffalo. (More Super Bowl stories.)