Why hasn't Denver ever hosted a Super Bowl? There are NFL requirements the Mile High City can't meet (2024)

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Why hasn't Denver ever hosted a Super Bowl? There are NFL requirements the Mile High City can't meet? ›

The NFL required temperature in the month leading up to the Super Bowl is an average temperature of 50 degrees. Denver's average is 30.7 degrees. Cold weather cities like Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Detroit have all hosted the Super Bowl in the past, but unlike Denver, those stadiums are in a dome.

DENVER (KDVR) — Out of 56 years, the Mile High City has never hosted a Super Bowl — and it's not on the list for the upcoming years either. Don't hold your breath for any time beyond that either. Based on the NFL's requirements to host a Super Bowl, Denver will never host a Super Bowl unless those requirements change.

There are NFL requirements the Mile High City can't meet. The NFL's general requirements to host the Super Bowl include interest from the local football team, stadium quality, hotel inventory, a media center, corporate and community support, and approval from three-quarters of the league's owners.

After the Rapids' 2001 season, Mile High Stadium was closed and in 2002 the stadium was demolished.

Denver is one of 15 cities with a current NFL team that either hasn't hosted a Super Bowl or isn't set to host one in the next three years. For a football-crazed market that's home to a franchise with a passionate following, the Mile High City is a notable exclusion.

Only 15 NFL team cities have played host to Super Bowls. They include Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Tampa, Phoenix, San Diego, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Jacksonville, Dallas-Fort Worth, Indianapolis and the New York metro area.

The stadium is nicknamed Mile High due to not only its predecessor, but due to the city's elevation of 1 mile or 5,280 feet (1,610 m) above sea level.

On Jan. 27, 1991, The New York Giants won when Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood missed a field goal in the final seconds of the game. It was the second Super Bowl victory for the Giants and the only Super Bowl so far to be decided by one point.

The Denver Broncos has sold out every game since 1970.

The host stadiums have been announced for the next three Super Bowls. In 2025, the game will take place at the Caesars Superdome; in 2026, it will take place at Levi's Stadium; and in 2027, it will take place at SoFi Stadium. Caesars Superdome is the home of the New Orleans Saints in Louisiana.

Where is the 2024 Super Bowl taking place? ›

Super Bowl 2024 will unfold at Allegiant Stadium, home to the league's Las Vegas Raiders franchise, marking a historic moment for both the state of Nevada and the entertainment capital itself.

The smallest stadium is Soldier Field with a capacity of 61,500. In their normal configurations, all of the league's 30 stadiums have a seating capacity of at least 60,000 spectators; of those, a majority (17) have fewer than 70,000 seats, while 8 have between 70,000 and 80,000, and 5 can seat 80,000 or more.

The Broncos have not committed to a new stadium, but have committed to over $100 million in upgrades to Empower Field that ownership will be paying for.

It is ordered by the conference and division to which the team belongs. Soldier Field in Chicago, home of the Chicago Bears is the oldest stadium in the league having opened in 1924. The stadium that has been used the longest by an NFL team is Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers since 1957.

The Browns are the only team to never play or host a Super Bowl. So that makes Cleveland the only current city with an NFL team to never play or host the game.

Four NFL teams — the Browns, Lions, Jaguars, and Texans — have never appeared in the Super Bowl.

That's in part due to Chicago's lack of an indoor stadium. Thanks, Chicago winters. But Soldier Field did once play host to the “Super Bowl of Rock.” The photo from the Chicago History Museum above shows the “Super Bowl of Rock” on June 4, 1977.

Acrisure Stadium in its current state simply doesn't have enough space to properly accommodate a Super Bowl crowd reliably. As of Feb. 9, 2024, individual seats at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas start at $6,680, according to Ticketmaster.