The Sports Xchange

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is intrigued about the possibility of Pittsburgh hosting a Super Bowl.

Goodell was the guest of honor Tuesday at a fundraising event in Pittsburgh when he was asked about Pittsburgh’s chances of hosting Super Bowl LVII in 2023.

“I always thought football in the elements is a great part of the game. I love that,” Goodell said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We think football is meant to be played in the elements. We understand that and love that.”

Steelers owner Art Rooney II submitted an application to the NFL for Pittsburgh to be under consideration for the 2023 Super Bowl at the league meeting in May in San Francisco. A formal bid wouldn’t come until spring 2018, with a vote probably taken in 2019.

“The challenge for hosting a Super Bowl is really the extraordinary amount of infrastructure you have to have,” Goodell told the lunch crowd. “All of those things put a tremendous burden on smaller markets, and that’s going to be the challenge for every small market team, Pittsburgh included.

“The weather issue is ultimately decided by the 32 owners that vote. Some people like playing in the elements, and some think the game should be played in perfect conditions in a Super Bowl.”

The league has awarded the next three Super Bowls to Santa Clara, Calif., where the San Francisco 49ers play, Houston and Minneapolis. Four city finalists — Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans and Tampa Bay — to host the 2019 and 2020 Super Bowls have been announced. NFL owners will vote to award those games in May.

The NFL played outdoors in the cold for Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014 in East Rutherford, N.J.

“It was very successful,” Goodell said. “It was a great event for us.”