Super Bowl, winter 2018. Final Four, winter 2019. College Football Playoff National Championship game, winter 2020?
Minneapolis wants to create a historic three-year streak of hosting major sporting events. The Super Bowl and Final Four are already booked, and the city's push to host college football's title game is expected to officially begin early next week when it submits its bid to the College Football Playoff committee.
The final game of the College Football Playoffs, which debuted last season and was considered a resounding success, would be played in the future Vikings stadium, which is scheduled to be completed before the 2016 NFL season, in January of 2018, 2019 or 2020.
Championship game bids for the three-year period of 2018-2020 are due later this month. Minneapolis could decide to narrow its bid to just one or two of those years, a strong possibility considering that the Super Bowl will be at the stadium on Feb. 4, 2018, and the NCAA Final Four 14 months later.
A bid for just the 2020 national championship game is possible.
The College Football Playoff organization will name the three winning cities this fall.
Indianapolis on Friday bowed out, the Indianapolis Star reported. The Los Angeles Times reported in late April that Pasadena, Calif., home of the Rose Bowl, will also not bid. Both the Times and the Orlando Sentinel have reported the cost of the bid to be nearing $20 million.
The Indianapolis Star reported that Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fla., Miami, San Antonio and Santa Clara, Calif., would also make bids for 2018-2020. More cities could join that list by the end of the month.
