NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell knew the question was coming at the Tennessee Titans‘ ceremony Friday, raising the final steel beam into place for their new enclosed stadium.
Goodell said Nashville, with the Titans, put their own stamp on the NFL draft in 2019 and changing the trajectory of that annual event for the league. The commissioner said everyone had a wake-up moment that Nashville is a “Super Bowl ready” city as Music City had a record attendance for that draft.
“The one thing that’s missing is the stage,” Goodell said. “And I think now you’re building a great stage. We have a process, but I have every expectation that you’re going to see that type of thing in the future.”
The Titans are 19 months into building the new Nissan Stadium with a target date for completion in February 2027, giving the franchise plenty of time to move in for the 2027 season.
The NFL has currently announced future hosts for the Super Bowl through 2028 with the game in Atlanta that year. Nashville has not hid intentions to bring a Super Bowl to the new stadium, with a committee announced in June 2023 to chase big events like the NFL’s premier game, a Final Four and college football playoff games.
Competition to host is also strong, with so many NFL teams currently building or planning new stadiums.
First, the Titans’ current stadium will have to be demolished. The area around Nissan Stadium is also slated for continued renovation and construction, as well, that could affect the timing of when Tennessee and Nashville are awarded a Super Bowl.
The new Nissan Stadium is being built with what is considered the largest commitment of public funding for an NFL stadium, with $1.2 billion combined in state and local bonds to help pay the $2.1 billion cost. The name will remain the same as the current stadium, which became Nissan Stadium in 2015.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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