Indianapolis Laying Out Contingency Plan In Case of Delay for 2012 Super Bowl
As of right now, Super Bowl XLVI is scheduled to take place in the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, but all parties are exercising caution in the matter.
With the possibility of a lockout for the 2011 season, the league and the Indianapolis Super Bowl hosting committee have worked out a contingency plan in case a possible work stoppage postpones the championship game.
Committee President and CEO Allison Melangton stated that the NFL wanted the city’s Super Bowl venues and hotel rooms left open for the weekend of February 5th 2012, the scheduled date for the big game and for the following weekend as well.
The players union has stated that they are very concerned that the league’s owners will lock them out for the 2011 season.
"We are working with the NFL, I'm not going to say every day, but we are working closely on any other plans that need to be made," Melangton said. "But we all know that it is their (the NFL's) priority to resolve these contract issues as soon as possible and we are confident that they will."
The NFL and the NFLPA’s current collective bargaining agreement expires on March 5th 2011 and the union’s Executive Director DeMaurice Smith does not expect a new agreement to be reached until then.
Smith has said he believes the owners are preparing for this lockout and that they will lock out players because television networks will continue to pay the owners even if there is no football season in 2011. The league opted out of the current agreement two years ago.
President of the NFLPA, Kevin Mawae, has said himself that the players like the current agreement and did not want to change a thing. Of course, the owners disagreed.
Indianapolis was awarded as the hosting city for Super Bowl XLVI on May 20th, 2008, the same day the owners opted out of the current CBA. Melangton states that even during the bidding process, the league discussed possible backup dates for the Super Bowl.
"This is not unusual as local Super Bowl host committees will include in its bid a number of possible dates it could host the Super Bowl," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "As part of its ... bid, the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee said it would hold both Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, 2012 as possible dates. We have listed Feb. 5 as the tentative date for the game, but have flexibility to hold it in Indianapolis on Feb. 12."
The league has even given backup dates to the 2013 and 2014 Super Bowls. New Orleans and New York/New Jersey are the hosts of those two Super Bowls respectively.
The reason for the backup dates of those Super Bowls is in case the season is expanded to 17 or 18 games when the next CBA is reached.
"We've been told by the NFL to proceed full-speed ahead for the 5th, which is what we're doing," she said. "If anything changes we will work with the NFL on whatever the contingency needs to be."
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has dismissed any speculation that Indy can lose the Super Bowl if things do not work out as planned and the game has to be cancelled due to a work stoppage.
"I really feel we will have a Super Bowl, and, hopefully, we can do it as planned," Irsay said. "If not, we've made some plans to give us some flexibility."
It wouldn’t be a fuss if the game was pushed back a week. The big fuss would be if the game is cancelled. Football fans around the world will be praying that we have a 2011 season and this game goes as planned.
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