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In a surprise to no one, the NFL awarded two Super Bowls to cities not named Miami today. Super Bowl L, the 50th anniversary of the game, was given to the San Francisco 49ers, while Super Bowl LI will be hosted by the Houston Texans. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins just had to sit back and watch the games head elsewhere.
Without stadium upgrades as part of their Super Bowl bid, Miami really never stood a chance at landing either of the games. The fact that it only took one ballot for the 49ers to defeat the Dolphins' efforts, and one ballot for Houston to top Miami, only reemphasizes the needs for renovations to Sun Life Stadium.
After the vote, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross released a statement on the vote for Super Bowl L and LI:
"Congratulations to San Francisco and Houston on Super Bowl L and LI. However, we don't think there's a better place in the country to host Super Bowl than right here in South Florida. I am grateful for the hard work and creative energy that the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee showed in their bid. Today's decision doesn't dampen our enthusiasm to pursue Super Bowls in the future, since we are steadfast in our belief that those games are good for the South Florida community."
When asked by Jeff Darlington on NFL Network about Miami competing for future Super Bowls, Ross stated that they would look to change their bid and re-submit for Super Bowl LII in 2018. The finalists for that game will be announced in October, with the vote next May.
However, if something does not change with Sun Life Stadium, it could be another fruitless effort for Miami.
Other sites that could be competing for Super Bowls over the next few seasons include Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis. New Orleans, and Arizona. Add in possible cold weather locations, as well as recent hosts like Indianapolis, and, even, San Francisco and Houston, and it could quickly get ugly for Miami in terms of the NFL title game returning to South Florida.