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L.A. Will No Longer Host The Super Bowl In 2021, Thanks To The Rain
End zone view of the field at the Rose Bowl during pre-game festivities prior to Super Bowl XXI between the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys on January 31, 1993 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
With big downpours, there come many consequences. The roads get flooded, the water by the beaches become contaminated, and the hills may be prone to mudslides. Now you can add "Losing The Super Bowl" to that list.
As we'd reported last week, the upcoming Inglewood stadium (designed to house both the Rams and the Chargers) has been hit with a major delay thanks to the winter season's rainfall. What happened was that the rain came down during a crucial period of the construction process when workers were digging a hole on which the stadium would sit. One of the problems was that that hole became flooded—this, added with other issues, pushed back the stadium's unveiling from 2019 to 2020.
The stadium was slated to host Super Bowl LV in 2021, which, barring any other major delays, would have been enough time. However, the NFL has a rule saying that a stadium must be open for two regular seasons before it can host a Super Bowl. There was speculation that Stan Kroenke (owner of the Rams and the company that will run the stadium) would file for a waiver to bypass that rule.
Now it looks like we've lost Super Bowl LV, as the L.A. Times' Sam Farmer sent out a tweet saying that the NFL has voted to bring the event to Tampa Bay in 2021 instead:
League just unanimously passed moving Los Angeles Super Bowl back to 2022, and having Tampa host Feb 2021 game.
— Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) May 23, 2017
USA Today confirmed that Super Bowl LVI will indeed go to Los Angeles, and that it will happen at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 season. It's not a totally done deal, however, as the hosts will have to prove to the NFL that the stadium is coming along as planned:
Both Tampa and Los Angeles must prove by Aug. 25 that they are on track to host their respective Super Bowls.
— Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) May 23, 2017
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Certainly, a lot is riding on the Inglewood stadium (which is currently named "Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park"). Aside from hosting the Rams, the Chargers, and the Super Bowl, it has been touted as a major facility as backers of LA 2024 push for the Olympic Games to come to Los Angeles. There are also suggestions of using the stadium in the event's opening ceremony.
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