What About Seattle?!

I recently read an article by David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune discussing the possibility of playing a Super Bowl at Soldier Field. One of the candidates for Mayor of Chicago, Gery Chico, then said he’d work to bring the Super Bowl to Chicago if elected. While the notion is absolutely absurd (for reasons I will outline below), it got me to thinking, “What about Seattle as the site for a future Super Bowl?!”

Super Bowl XLV will take place this Sunday in Dallas. Watching the ESPN crews shiver in the frigid weather on their outdoor sets all week has made me laugh. Although the temperatures in Seattle and Dallas will be comparable at game time, the weather this week in Seattle has actually been BETTER than in Dallas. So if Cowboys Stadium can host a Super Bowl, why not Qwest Field?

Two things that may work against Seattle as a future Super Bowl site are seating capacity and hotel capacity. Super Bowl sites must have a minimum 70,000 seat capacity. Qwest Field holds 67,000 fans, but I would think adding an additional three to five thousand temporary seats shouldn’t be too much of a problem given the layout of the stadium.

Hotel capacity is another matter. I’m not sure the greater Seattle area has the amount of hotel rooms that the NFL would require. That to me is the only possible factor that would preclude Seattle as a Super Bowl site. Weather should not be an issue. As I mentioned earlier, the weather in Seattle has been better than in Dallas this week. Also, let’s not forget the torrential rainstorm in Miami for Super Bowl XLI four years ago. The Super Bowl will be held in New York in three years. I doubt if the weather there will be significantly better than in Seattle that week.

It’s a good thing the Super Bowl isn’t being held in Chicago this year. Chicagoans are now digging out of one of the worst snowstorms in history. News footage can be found regarding the thousands of cars stranded Wednesday night on Lake Shore Drive. LSD is basically the only roadway to get in and out of Soldier Field.

Weather isn’t even the main negative against Chicago. Traffic is a nightmare around Soldier Field even in the preseason. I spent almost TWO HOURS on a CTA bus trying to get to Soldier Field for the playoff game against the Seahawks a couple of weeks ago. Also, it’s at least a mile and a half walk from the Loop to Soldier Field. Qwest Field’s location just south of downtown Seattle is infinitely more convenient to get to.

Soldier Field also would need close to ten thousand additional seats for a Super Bowl, and that would not be an easy task given the configuration of that stadium. I cannot see how that would be feasible.

In my opinion, the biggest drawback facing Chicago is the condition of the actual field. It is simply awful. Having watched both Bears/Seahawks games in Soldier Field this season, there is no way the turf would befit a Super Bowl. In October, it didn’t look like there was much grass on the field. In January, it seemed as if the teams were playing football on concrete.

Yet, if Dallas is and New York will soon host a Super Bowl, and Chicago thinks it should, why not Seattle? I would love to see a Super Bowl at Qwest Field. To the powers that be, at least think about making a bid. Please?!