“You want it to be perfect, right? When you come back to L.A. after all those years, you want to be perfect,” Kroenke said. “So I think an extra year might be good.”
The NFL has been known to reward the cities with newly constructed stadiums, so most football fans anticipated an Atlanta victory in 2019. The city’s $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled to open next summer.
“Screaming joy for Atlanta and our fans,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said of his emotions after winning the Super Bowl bid. Atlanta also plans to host the College Football Playoff championship game in 2018.
The report said that Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins owner has spent more than $400 million of his own money in renovations for the stadium, after the local government failed to subsidize the facility with public funding. Ross expects to gain some of that money back by hosting big events such as the Super Bowl.
“It’s going to be great for Miami. It’s great for the Miami Dolphins,” Ross said. “And we are only going to feel better when we’re playing in the game.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
