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The Super Bowl appears to be heading back to two familiar homes in 2023 and 2024. Arizona is the sole bidder to host Super Bowl LVII, and New Orleans is the sole bidder to host Super Bowl LVIII under the NFL's new process for hand-picking potential host sites and negotiating directly with them. Owners will vote on the two hosts after hearing their final pitches Wednesday at the league meetings in Atlanta, according to multiple sources. The news was first reported by the Sports Business Journal. Both are expected to be approved, barring any surprises. "Assuming they've met all the requirements, which we believe they have, those are done deals," a source told ESPN's Dan Graziano. The next four Super Bowls, which were previously awarded, will be held in Atlanta, Miami, Tampa and Los Angeles. If approved, Arizona will be hosting its fourth Super Bowl (the third in Glendale), and New Orleans will be hosting its 11th. The cities were notified back in November that they would be invited to bid, and they were required to keep the process a secret. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league office worked in conjunction with the Super Bowl and major events advisory committee, which comprised team owners, to select the cities that were invited to bid. "The new process for selecting Super Bowl host committees was first discussed last fall and provides a more strategic approach, avoids multiple teams bidding without receiving an award and also to confirm host cities further in advance to facilitate a better planning horizon," McCarthy said. Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation president and CEO Jay Cicero said the biggest difference now is that host sites aren't centering elaborate pitches around what they do better than the other cities they're bidding against -- and they're no longer trying to woo individual owners with sales pitches earlier in the process. But Cicero stressed that New Orleans doesn't consider it a done deal until Wednesday's vote. New Saints owner Gayle Benson and president Dennis Lauscha will make the final pitch to fellow owners on Wednesday. "Our city was built for Super Bowls," said Cicero, who pointed to the continued growth of hotel rooms, restaurants and hospitality in the city -- as well as the same things that have always made New Orleans a great host city for big events. "It's easier to do here. It's less expensive for the NFL to do here. It's walkable, of course. Transportation costs are almost nothing. And you know you're in a big-event city and the Super Bowl is happening the moment you step out of your hotel. "That atmosphere is hard to recreate elsewhere." New Orleans was a perfect 10-for-10 in Super Bowl bids under the old process before it lost out in an upset to Minneapolis' new stadium for the 2018 game. New Orleans last hosted a Super Bowl in 2013. New Orleans is also hosting the 2020 college football championship game and the 2022 NCAA men's basketball Final Four. State officials have also begun to research upgrades to the Superdome that could cost between $150 million-$500 million, though those aren't specifically tied to New Orleans' bid. "I think you can really narrow it down to one or two cities that do that better than anyone. And this would be one of them," Saints coach Sean Payton said when told of the news at a charity golf event Monday. "Just the proximity to the hotels and the restaurants really provide a unique venue and experience. You're not getting in cars and driving out 40 minutes to another venue. So it just makes sense. So it's good news. "Obviously when we host the Super Bowl there's a huge impact. Not only economically, but it's hard to measure all the specifics that our city benefits from hosting an event like that. That's pretty significant."
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