NFL should bring the Super Bowl to Kansas City, Jackson County legislators say
If New Jersey can host the Super Bowl in the dead of winter, as it did in February, then Kansas City deserves a chance, too.
So says the Jackson County Legislature, which on Monday unanimously passed a resolution to that effect.
“Don’t they play football in inclement weather?” said Legislator Crystal Williams, who introduced the measure, which urges the National Football League to pick open-air Arrowhead Stadium as the site of the championship game sometime in the future.
Bringing a Super Bowl to Kansas City was the dream of Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who coined the name of the sporting world’s biggest single event. Hunt died in 2006.
Williams said the resolution largely mirrored one passed by the Missouri General Assembly this spring. One difference: The state legislation also urged the Missouri Department of Economic Development to set up a committee to see what it would take for Kansas City to land a Super Bowl, “including utilization of any existing economic or other incentives in current state law as well as any proposals for changes needed in state law.”
That group began meeting last month.
The Jackson County resolution was instead aimed squarely at the NFL. Arguing that climate should not be a factor in selecting a host city for the Super Bowl, it noted that Arrowhead has one of the highest seating capacities in the league and was recently updated.
Besides that, having the big game in Kansas City would not only be a boon to the region’s economy, it also would showcase “Kansas City’s Midwestern hospitality, fine hotels, modern facilities and (provide) the opportunity for visitors to sample some of the best barbecue in America.”
While good barbecue won’t cinch the deal, both the state and county resolutions mentioned it in their sales pitch to the NFL.
“It’s our badge of honor,” Williams said.
To reach Mike Hendricks, call 816-234-4738 or send email to mhendricks@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published September 15, 2014 at 6:59 PM with the headline "NFL should bring the Super Bowl to Kansas City, Jackson County legislators say."