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Bay area looking super

Posted Aug 3, 2011 by Ira Kaufman

Updated Aug 3, 2011 at 10:12 AM

BY IRA KAUFMAN

TAMPA—The season hasn’t started and the Bay area is already thinking Super Bowl.

The 2015 Super Bowl will be up for grabs in October at the NFL’s fall meeting in Houston and the battle lines have already been drawn between Tampa Bay and Arizona. Those are the only two regions vying to play host to the league’s next available showcase event ... and both sides like their chances.

Arizona’s main advantage in this competition? The Valley of the Sun last served as the Super Bowl site in 2008, one year ahead of Tampa Bay in the pecking order.

That’s a slight edge to Glendale, but the Bay area has every reason to consider itself the favorite.

While Glendale is a suburb on the outskirts of Phoenix, a Super Bowl in Tampa offers a conveniently centralized location. Raymond James Stadium is a short hop away from downtown and the Convention Center that will be the hub of activities during Super Bowl week.

Arizona officials dropped out of competition for the 2014 game, citing a battered economy. The Bay area fought the good fight last October before losing out to the new stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. After the vote was taken, one NFL official shook his head and acknowledged that Tampa Bay’s bid was so persuasive, owners almost spurned the obvious preference of Commissioner Roger Goodell to award the game to the New York area.

The willingness by the Bucs to switch a regular-season home game to London’s Wembley Stadium for the second time in three years also could play to Tampa Bay’s advantage. Other clubs are understandably reluctant to give up a home date and owners figure to look kindly on the decision by the Glazers to play the Bears in London.

The Glazers have done a dynamic job lobbying owners for support during past Super Bowl efforts. Arizona owner Bill Bidwill has been in the league longer than the Glazer family, but he isn’t as effective an ambassador as the Glazers when it comes to promoting his region for the big game.

Landing the 2015 Super Bowl is especially significant for Arizona and Tampa Bay.

Some future games will undoubtedly go to new stadiums that aren’t even under construction, with Los Angeles poised to be a major player down the line. Traditional Super Bowl cities like Miami and New Orleans won’t be ignored, so the 2015 game could be Tampa Bay’s best chance for quite a while.