Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey: Hosting the Super Bowl is a ‘win’ for the state

Arizona was awarded the opportunity Wednesday to host Super Bowl LVII in 2023, bringing one of the biggest events in sports to the state for the fourth time.

NFL owners voted unanimously at the league’s annual spring meeting in Atlanta this week, where Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman David Rousseau pitched the state.

Ducey joined 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Burns & Gambo on Thursday, calling the opportunity to host the Super Bowl a “win” for the state.

“This is fantastic news, we will be bringing Super Bowl LVII back to the Valley of the sun in 2023,” Ducey said. “It was a big win, Arizona wins in this Super Bowl regardless.”

Arizona last hosted the Super Bowl in 2015.

Before that, Arizona hosted the championship game in 2008 — also at the Glendale stadium, and in 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. University of Phoenix Stadium has also hosted the 2015 Pro Bowl, 2007 and 2011 BCS National Championship games, and the 2016 College Football Playoff title game.

Over 700 million dollars was pumped into the state’s economy as a result of the Super Bowl in 2015, but Ducey believes the impact could be greater in 2023.

“We will probably see a billion dollar economic impact,” Ducey said. “We had 121,000 visitors here last time we hosted the Super Bowl, we had over a million people at Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix, all of those numbers are going to grow.

“There’s 22 new hotels that will be in the Valley, there’s new miles of freeway. There’s a lot of things that will help with economic impact.”

Arizona has faced criticism with past events due to the stadium being located in Glendale, a far drive from some of the state’s most popular venues in Scottsdale.

Despite the distance, Ducey says it brings an opportunity for visitors to experience all that Arizona has to offer for major events.

“What I have heard people say is that the game may be in Glendale, but the party is in Scottsdale,” he said. “I think it is really an opportunity to showcase our state, the different cities and municipalities and put things together.”

Before landing in Arizona, the Super Bowl will take place in Atlanta, Miami, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles.

A new procedure put to rest the old bid system. Starting with the 2023 game, the league will choose a city to be the host, sides will work on a contract, then that deal goes before owners for a vote.

Ducey said he hopes to continue vying for the state to host the Super Bowl and other major events in the near future.

“The one thing we do great in Arizona is we try harder, this is a startup state,” Ducey said. “I think you see this type of leadership in the business community where you have individuals like Michael Bidwill who step up and a governor like me who knows this is good for our state.”

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