2009 SUPER BOWL AWARDED TO TAMPA!



May 25, 2005

The Super Bowl is coming back to Tampa!

Confirming the confident talk of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Task Force, the 32 National Football League team owners voted on Wednesday to hold Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium. It will be the fourth Super Bowl played in Tampa and the second in Raymond James. The home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers most recently played host to the big game in January of 2001.

"We are so excited and so happy that the NFL has awarded the Super Bowl to Tampa," said Buccaneers Owner/President Malcolm Glazer. "We know that we have a beautiful community in Tampa, and what wonderful people we have there."

In winning the bid for the 2009 Super Bowl, the Bay area prevailed over very strong competition from Atlanta, Houston and Miami. The Atlanta bid was thought to be helped by the possibility of significant renovations to the Georgia Dome, and the Houston bid could call on fresh memories of a well-run event in 2004. Even Miami, already chosen to play host to the 2007 Super Bowl, was a contender given the league's obvious fondness for that site.

"This is a defining moment for our sports community," said Rob Higgins, Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. "This is a major statement towards the phenomenal teamwork involved in putting the bid together."




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