The Minnesota Vikings' new $1 billion stadium doesn't open for more than two years, but it already has the NFL's premier event on its schedule.
Owners chose the Twin Cities' bid for Super Bowl LII in early 2018 over pitches from New Orleans and Indianapolis at the NFL's spring meetings Tuesday in Atlanta.
"We appreciate the collaborative effort from Minnesota's business and community leadership in putting together this winning bid," said Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf in a statement.
"It was evident to me and my brother Zygi that the other NFL owners were extremely impressed with everything Minnesota had to offer, and we have no doubt they will be even more excited with what the community will deliver in February 2018."
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It will be the second Super Bowl in Minneapolis, which also hosted Super Bowl XXVI at the recently demolished Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on Jan. 26, 1992, a Mark Rypien-led Washington Redskins victory over the Buffalo Bills.
The Vikings will play the next two seasons at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota before moving into their new building in fall 2016. The team secured substantial public funding for the project in 2012 after roughly a decade of trying, and the NFL has made a point to reward communities that contribute to stadiums.
The new stadium will typically seat 65,400 but can expand capacity to 72,000 for the Super Bowl.
Source : http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super/2014/05/20/super-bowl-lii-2018-announcement-city/9306047/
