FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -The date of the 2013 Super Bowl remains a mystery. Those who fought to bring the game to New Orleans couldn’t care less.
Four years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is a Super Bowl city again.
NFL owners voted Tuesday to play what will be the 47th Super Bowl in New Orleans, the first time the championship will be staged there since Katrina shredded parts of the Louisiana Superdome, caused 1,600 deaths and devastated the Gulf Coast.
“We’re just thrilled about what’s going on,” Saints owner Tom Benson said. “We’re getting a new Superdome. Now we’re going to get a Super Bowl on top of that. It couldn’t be any more exciting.”
New Orleans beat out Miami, which sought a record 11th Super Bowl, and 2008 host Glendale, Ariz. This is the 10th time New Orleans will be the Super Bowl site and first since 2002.
d CBS) and an anti-tampering arrangement involving free agents.
“We had a very productive session,” commissioner Roger Goodell said.
More productivity will be needed soon: The league plans to open talks on a new collective bargaining agreement with the players union starting next month, with an eye on avoiding a potential lockout that could disrupt the 2011 season.
Jeff Pash, the NFL’s executive vice president and general counsel, said Tuesday he believes both the league and new NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith have laid “a good groundwork for these discussions to begin,” but stopped short of saying how long they may take.
“We’ll stay at it for as long as it takes,” Pash said.
NFL owners opted out of the CBA last year, meaning there could be a labor-related stoppage if a new deal isn’t struck for the 2011 season. Combined with the global economic downturn and the chance of a longer NFL schedule, it’s possible talks between the league and union could be, at best, contentious.
”
The plan for extending the regular season to 17 or 18 games would likely cut the preseason schedule to two contests, with the season starting in its typical slot just after Labor Day.
Smith, who met briefly with owners Tuesday, said players need to be aware of what’s at stake for additional games.
“The players understand the cost to their bodies,” he said. “The players understand how tough it is to get through a regular season. They understand how hard it is to try to stand up on a Monday morning. They understand why they need a day off on Tuesday. Their families understand when they get out of football and they have arthritis before they’re 40. They understand the cost.”
Because no one knows how long the 2012 schedule will be, there’s no firm date yet for the New Orleans Super Bowl – other than, it’ll happen sometime in February.
So New Orleans’ Super Bowl future, minus the timing issue, is now clear.
Michael Vick’s future remains anything but.
The NFL meetings began as the former Atlanta Falcons star was about to leave federal prison for the final phase of his 23-month sentence related to dogfighting. Goodell said he has not determined any reinstatement process for Vick.
This much is certain: Vick will need not only to say he’s sorry, but convince Goodell he means those words if there’s any chance his indefinite suspension will be lifted.
o be up to Michael,” Goodell said. “Michael’s going to have to demonstrate to myself and the general public and to a lot of people, did he learn anything from this experience? Does he regret what happened? Does he feel that he can be a positive influence going forward?”
Goodell said any meeting would take place once Vick’s legal process is completed; his time in federal custody ends July 20, or roughly around the same time NFL training camps open.
Add A Comment