Michael Bidwill looks forward to season, Cardinals’ helmets, Super Bowl LVII

Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has a bit to look forward to in the coming season.

His Cardinals have high expectations despite the fumbling end in 2021. They’ll suit up in a new all-black combination adorned with their new black helmets.

There’s also the matter of Super Bowl LVII coming to State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12, 2023.

Bidwill joined Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Tuesday to announce a donation to the Phoenix Children’s Give-A-Thon and stuck around to speak on what’s on tap for the Cardinals on and off the field.

Preseason expectations are high

Arizona may be far from the NFC West favorite with two of the division’s other squads playing in last year’s NFC Championship Game before one, the Los Angeles Rams, won the Super Bowl.

But there’s juice behind the Cardinals heading into the season.

They open the regular season on Sept. 11 at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. Arizona not only gets an afternoon-window game on CBS against Patrick Mahomes and Co. but the Grade-A announcing crew assignment of Jim Nantz on play-by-play, Tony Romo as analyst and Tracy Wolfson on the sidelines.

“We’re getting a lot of respect from everybody,” Bidwill told Wolf & Luke. “This is going to be a huge game for us. I just think the season — we started fast last year. We made a lot of changes, I know coach has done a lot of things (to finish stronger).”

The Cardinals answered the biggest offseason question

The Cardinals have never had a young, franchise quarterback to lock into a long-term deal since the franchise arrived in Arizona. How they approached this offseason would say a lot about how the next several years will go.

And while there were negotiating bumps in the road and even controversy about a certain clause in the contract after the Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray agreed to a historic extension, it’s still damn good to have things settled.

“Having a franchise quarterback, I’m so excited we got him locked up,” Bidwill said. “He’s our leader. He’s been doing a fantastic job.

“I just watched a closed practice, and I’m really excited about what I was seeing on the field. Yesterday, you heard coach talk about their first practice … with both Kyler and (new receiver Hollywood Brown) connecting and I saw it today.”

Improvements on the field and off

Arizona finally listened to the many fans clamoring for uniform updates — or at least additions.

The team debuted their glossy black helmets in practice this week and will get a little more oomph in the polls when the red glimmers hit HD television screens during the regular season.

“The league office allowed us to consider adding a second helmet. We’ve been working on it for a couple years, pretty excited about how it came out,” Bidwill said. “I can’t wait to see it with our black uniform.”

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Off the field, the Cardinals have also be upgrading. Their north end zone scoreboard at State Farm Stadium is going from an old 400,000-pixel screen to a 3.3 million-pixel improvement, Bidwill said.

The stadium is also going to be 5G capable inside the bowl and in the parking lots, while a BetMGM Sportsbook on the great lawn is currently under construction but expected to open soon.

Bidwill said State Farm Stadium will have undergone $150 million in total upgrades since the venue last hosted a Super Bowl in 2015.

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