MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The chairman of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee hopes the blackout in New Orleans helps Sun Life Stadium's chances of hosting Super Bowl L.
South Florida is competing with San Francisco to host the game. The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to open a brand-new stadium in Santa Clara, California.
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"What we're hoping for is that they are going to realize this is a brand-new stadium and maybe they need to work out the bumps before allowing them to host the biggest game, especially on the golden anniversary," said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee.
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Barreto was at the Superdome when the power went out during Super Bowl XLVII. The outage led to a 35-minute delay.
"They actually award cities a Super Bowl if you build a new stadium," said Barreto.
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross proposed upgrades to the stadium in January, including:
- More comfortable seats
- New seating closer to the field
- State-of-the art HD video screens
- HD sports lighting
- Modern escalators and elevators for fan transportation
- Updated kitchens for better concession options
Ross vowed to pay for half of the $400 million modernization plan. Last month, Miami-Dade County Commissioners passed a resolution that supports spending millions of tax dollars on the plan.
"I think our odds are going to be less and less if we don't get these improvements done," said Barreto.
A Florida Senate committee is going over a proposal to use public money for the stadium on Tuesday.