Glendale loses out to New Orleans for 2013 Super Bowl

Glendale will have to wait another year to land its second Super Bowl after NFL owners on Tuesday awarded the 2013 game to New Orleans.

An announcement on the New Orleans Saints Web site reports that the game will be held in that city for the 10th time, also marking the sixth time the game will be held at the Louisiana Superdome.

Bob Sullivan, president of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, said he is ???disappointed but not surprised??? by the NFL owners decision.

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???New Orleans put together a very strong bid, and it was their first one since Hurricane Katrina,??? he said.

Katrina, which hit the city in August 2005, caused a massive failure of New Orleans??? levee system flooding portions of the city. The storm damaged the Superdome as well, but the building was used as a temporary shelter.

In recent weeks, the Saints came to a 25-year lease extension at the Superdome, one that calls for $85 million in upgrades, likely in time for the game.

???This is a great accomplishment for New Orleans, and the significance of bringing the Super Bowl to our city and region can???t be overstated,??? said Tom Benson, the Saints owner. ???From every perspective, this shows that our city is on the rise, viable and thriving, and I have great faith in what we can accomplish and the impact it will have, starting today. This is my hometown, and maybe we don???t need to talk about New Orleans being on the way back anymore. New Orleans is back, and today is proof.???

Glendale and the Arizona host committee have tried for several years land another Super Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium, where the game was played in 2008, but Sullivan said stadium openings in Indianapolis and Dallas cinched the game, as well as a bid from Miami, which will be hosting its 10th Super Bowl next February.

Still, NFL owners continue to encourage Arizona to bid because of the experiences here in 1996 and last year, Sullivan said. ???There???s been nothing said negatively in regards to the Super Bowl being held here,??? he said.

While local leaders envision becoming part of a Super Bowl rotation, Sullivan said there isn???t a true rotation, and competition for host city is increasingly difficult as the game pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into local economies.

???There???s a reason people want the Super Bowl,??? he said.