Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a tall order; he wants the city to host both the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft in the near future and he’s already discussed it with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Read more after the jump.
“The mayor and Roger Goodell spoke last week on a number of matters,” spokesman Tom Alexander told ESPNChicago.com. “They speak or see one another on occasion. The mayor spoke with the commissioner about several things that would allow Chicago and the NFL to expand their already wonderful relationship. Chicago is a great sports town and a great football town, and the mayor wants to build on these strengths.”
The Super Bowls have been awarded to Arizona in 2015, San Francisco in 2016 and Houston in 2017, so the earliest Chicago could host the game is 2018. The Super Bowl will be held in New Jersey in 2014 and could open up the possibility of other cold cities to get the opportunity. However Soldier Field has a small seating capacity of only 63,500 making it less than an ideal location. The NFL Draft will be held at Radio City Music Hall through 2014 but could leave New York City after that.
Emanuel’s requests have caught the ear of Goodell however I think he has bigger things to worry about like why Chicago is called “Chiraq” and possibly fixing that. Oh and the school system that’s currently closing schools and firing hundreds of teachers.
